New Alliances
by sunneedee
Summary: COMPLETE Harry is shaken when he realises that there is no adult he can trust to be on his side alone now that Sirius is gone. Draco Malfoy appeals to him for help - and how does the perfect Hermione Granger fit into all this? Harry Potter at Hogwarts era, romance fluff, brief slash DM/GW(brief), HP/PP, HG/DM RATED M
1. Introduction

Author's introductory note:

Hello there everyone! This was my first fanfic, and has been an utter mess for some time. I have long since moved away from Dramione, but seeing as I have some Drarry fics on the go now, I hope I can get Drarry out of my system there, and be able to write Dramiony and Pansy/Harry without slipping in Drarry moments! I apologise for the mess this fic has been. I can only say that it has now been improved greatly, and a sequel is being worked on properly now.

And final note:

I'm a Latin student and I can translate Latin for any fic writers looking for that kind of service. English - Latin or Latin - English. I would love the chance to practice my translation skills, and no job is too small. Need a spell? Tell me the effects of it, and I'll come up with something appropriate sounding with accurate meanings. Need a long poem or enchantment? Get in touch please! I'm only at a sort of intermediate level, so I don't know everything but I have a good deal better chance of coming up with translations better than Google translate, and I know how to research for what I don't know off the top of my head.


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer - Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, not me. I'm not making any money for this._

Harry Potter was alone in the third bedroom in Number Four, Privet Drive. Downstairs, Aunt Petunia was clattering around the kitchen making lunch and Dudley was playing some kind of game involving gunshots and explosions on the Playstation in the living room. From outside came the high pitched whine of Uncle Vernon's hand-held car vacuum. If Harry looked out of his bedroom window into the front driveway, he would see Vernon's portly behind bulging out of the car door as he hoovered up crumbs from the seats. It was a peaceful sort of day, the kind you get in the middle of summer where it's very warm, but early enough in the day so that there's still a cool breeze and the sun shines a fresh, bright light on everything. Aunt Petunia's flowerbeds were thriving, the colourful heads of the flowers bobbing in the occasional puff of wind. There was a pleasant freedom in the air, the kind that one experiences when it is known there's nothing to be done urgently, and nothing at all to worry about, one that occurs yearly for most teenagers in Britain during the summer holidays.

Harry was not one of those participating in this annual sense of wellbeing. He felt trapped and stifled, bored and isolated. Except for meals and trips to the bathroom, he hadn't left his room for days and his room was starting to look very similar to the state it had been in last summer, before he had started his fifth year. Stale clothes lay discarded on the carpet, textbooks and parchment were strewn across his desk and on the floor. Ink pots, quills and various old potions ingredients were flung carelessly into the corners of the room, along with a large pile of _Daily Prophets _which were on the point of falling over into his empty trunk which he had kicked to the wall in anger and confusion as he'd unpacked a week ago.

Despite the gentle breeze that played across his face as he lay slumped over his writing desk, and despite the cheerful sunshine that shone onto the mess of his room, Harry felt tenser and angrier than he had been for as long as he could remember.

He had been trying so hard not to think about anything, just wanting to be at peace, but the fact was he was furious, and no amount of sleeping or studying was going to get rid of his anger. He'd spent the train journey back to King's Cross Station at the end of term in relative silence, smiling weakly at Ron's jokes and making noncommittal noises as Hermione discussed study plans for the summer, making Ron issue sounds such as 'It's not called the summer _holidays_ for nothing Hermione! Honestly!"

He had remained silent on the journey home from King's Cross, avoiding the Weasley family on the platform and heading straight for the car park with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. He had barely heard Vernon's pointed remarks on Harry's ungratefulness and the cost of the petrol bill.

His head had been reeling from his discussion with Dumbledore after that night in the Department of Mysteries. The last couple of days left of term had not been enough for him to come to terms with Sirius's death, and even now there were times when he was crippled with grief and guilt. Ron and Hermione had given him the space he had needed, and he had wasted the last days of term avoiding them and running over the events of that night in his head until he couldn't bear it any longer.

How could he have been so _stupid_?

Sometimes he wondered if Gryffindor's traits were all that desirable. Courage and chivalry were all very well, but he had been rash and too panicked and desperate to save Sirius to stop and _think_. And then he had been too blind against his prejudice against Snape to even consider going to him for help. No, he had to run headfirst into a dangerous situation, bringing his school friends with him where they could have died. What had he been thinking? Ginny was brave but if she had died…she was so _young_! And Neville could barely hold a wand straight at times! He had never really paused to consider exactly what 'danger' meant, what it would mean for someone to die because of his stupidity. It now seemed as if it was a miracle that Ron and Hermione had survived being his friend for so long.

Sirius had fallen so easily through the veil, died in a heartbeat. It had been easier than falling asleep and Harry had been reminded, if indeed he had truly ever known, that death was a thing so horribly real and frightening, and it could happen at any moment to anyone.

He felt the weight of his own mortality in his hands.

A shard of the enchanted mirror lay on the floor beside his bed, leant against his Gryffindor scarf, the pointed end facing upwards, glistening in the sunlight. How easy it would have been to fall out of his bed, as he had done several times before during a nightmare - or a vision - and then that shard might have slid into his skin, perhaps slitting his throat, or into his brain, doing damage irreparable by magic.

It seemed ridiculous, after facing dragons and the basilisk, and Voldemort himself, that he should die of such a mundane thing as falling out of bed. But now he had a sharp sense of how easily it could happen, and he was suddenly aware of how incredible it was that he had survived his other exploits at all.

_And now…_

He thought back to the prophecy that had been haunting his mind ever since he'd heard it.

..._neither can live while the other survives..._a contradiction if there ever was one, thought Harry, and to top it off, the prophecy had been made, not by an experienced and trusted seer, but the batty Professor Trelawney. If the things she predicted always came true, he would have died several times over by now, according to her.

So far, Harry had no trouble believing that Trelawney would make some ridiculous 'prediction', that Voldemort was crazy enough to believe a word that came out of an unknown seer's mouth without checking her success rates. But what came as a shock was that Dumbledore believed it.

Harry couldn't make sense of this. He realised that there must be some real prophecies, and knew that there had been real seers, rare as they were. He would even admit that some of Trelawney's predictions did come true; for instance in the case of Wormtail retuning to Voldemort.

It was just that while he might consider taking one of Trelawney's predictions into consideration, he didn't want to bet his life on it. It didn't make sense that he was the only one able to kill Voldemort, surely if someone fired a gun at his heart he would die?

_Now there's a thought…_

At the time, Harry pushed aside his doubts, when had Dumbledore ever been wrong?

He'd tried to silence his fears and he and Dumbledore had moved on to discuss why it was not because of the prophecy that Harry must defeat Voldemort, but because Harry could never live with himself until he had avenged his parents and ensured the safety of his loved ones.

So Harry was, effectively, trapped. Not _saved_ but _trapped _by his ability to love. If only he cared less, he could just escape Voldemort and lived his life in peace…but what was peace if he couldn't share it with those he loved?

Of course he wanted Voldemort dead, but he couldn't see any other sixteen year old defeating him, never mind himself. He just didn't _know_ enough; he wasn't any stronger or smarter or more powerful than any of his classmates, all the things he had been though, he'd only survived by chance and with the help of others. He'd had his suspicions, but after these recent revelations, Harry was beginning to wonder if certain things in his life had been orchestrated to test and strengthen him. The incident with the Philosopher's Stone, hidden in a _school _of all places, with defences so shoddy that first years could best them, and how the Chamber of Secrets had remained open until he and his friends had dealt with the problem themselves, how oddly helpless Dumbledore had been when it had come to Harry being entered into the Triwizard Tournament…

He forced himself not to let in that thought any further. He didn't want to deal with it yet.

He, Harry, was to kill Lord Voldemort.

If he didn't, he'd be hunted by him for the rest of his life and it was extremely likely that everyone he loved would die, just like his parents and Sirius had, to protect him.

Sure, he _wanted _to avenge his parents and Sirius, but he didn't want to die doing it.

He remembered so clearly what had happened next, at his last meeting with Dumbledore. How could he not? It had been the pivotal point in his life.

He had asked Dumbledore how he could prepare himself to face Voldemort. His head had been spinning with ideas of advanced Defence lessons, difficult and tricky to master spells and hexes…

Dumbledore had surveyed him through those half moon glasses and replied, "For now, I do not think it is necessary to start anything. You cannot use magic at your aunt's home in any case."

"But -" Harry's heart had sunk like a rock "I was hoping I didn't have to -" _to stay at Privet Drive, _he finished silently, hopelessly. He knew right away there wasn't any point arguing.

"When you return to Hogwarts after the summer, however" Dumbledore continued as if he hadn't spoken "I expect you to apply yourself more than ever in class, and practise defence spells on your own as well of course. Additionally, I have some memories to share with you."

"Memories sir?" Harry asked quickly "What do you mean?"

"I will be showing you my memories of Tom Riddle as I knew him, both as a boy and as an adult. I believe," he raised a hand to stop Harry from interrupting him with questions "I believe this will help you to understand what to expect from him when you do try to destroy him, which is very important. Know thine enemy, Harry."

There was a silence as Harry had digested all this information. Maybe getting to know Voldemort was important, but surely he'd need some more practical information? Such as how to defeat one of the most powerful dark wizards of all time?

"But… will I be getting any advanced defence lessons? It's just I think I'll need to know more than what's being taught in class. And - " he tentatively brought back the conversation to what he really wanted to discuss "Maybe I could stay with the Weasleys for the summer - " Dumbledore began to look rueful and Harry quickly added "I mean, they're in the Order and can protect me well enough, and if I stayed with other wizards then I could practise defence spells over the summer … and the ministry couldn't detect underage magic while I'm with them!" he added excitedly as the idea struck him.

When the professor looked unmoved on his decision, Harry quickly tacked on "Voldemort won't wait 'till I'm of age, professor!"

The headmaster sighed, looking very sympathetic.

"Unfortunately Harry there are good reasons why the underage magic law is in place and I cannot overlook you just because you are the boy-who-lived."

Harry felt his cheeks grow warm, feeling embarrassed. He hadn't meant to imply that he was above the rules.

"I don't mean to say that you only wish to do magic for selfish reasons." Dumbledore said kindly "You are correct after all, you need to learn new skills, but I think it is far safer all round if you wait until your return to Hogwarts before you start experimenting with new and difficult spells. I'm afraid you cannot stay at the Burrow this year, it's simply not as safe as being under your mother's blood protection." Dumbledore settled back into his chair, looking at Harry serenely over his half moon glasses.

Misery swept through Harry. He just _couldn't_ go back there, it was bad enough before, but with this latest news... he just couldn't be isolated all summer, knowing about the prophecy. Then a thought occurred to him. He felt his face growing warm again when he thought about telling Dumbledore about this, but he felt desperate. He didn't want to guilt him into doing what he wanted, but maybe if he just knew...

"Sir..." he began, and then stopped. Could he really say this? He didn't want everyone fussing over him if this got out.

"What is it Harry?" Dumbledore looked concerned, and even more so when Harry hesitated for even longer. The old wizard leant forward, his penetrating blue eyes on Harry's.

"Harry, you can tell me anything that is on your mind-"

"It's just that - the real reason I don't want to go back-" Harry burst out, then stopped to search for the right words.

"I – Hermione said a long time ago I should tell you about it, but I didn't want - "

"What's wrong Harry?" Dumbledore peered at him sharply, concern etched in the lines of his face.

Harry began to talk very quickly so he could get it all out faster. "Well I – obviously there are loads of reasons – I already told you, but most of all - " he closed his eyes.

"The Dursleys hate me sir, and I know that you must know this by now but after Sirius…" Harry took a steadying breath, and swallowed hard "and - and hearing about the prophecy - about what I have to do - I just can't go back to being alone again. They - "

He stared fixedly at the carpet.

" - they've put bars on my window, they lock me in my room for weeks sometimes and I don't get enough food half the time . . . I just can't go through that again."

There. He'd said it. It might have been three years ago that this had last happened but Dumbledore didn't need to know that, and after all, he was still subject to similar treatment. Even if Harry was used to being treated like that, as a headmaster Dumbledore couldn't possible ignore that sort of abuse, he couldn't send him back – but now the old wizard was talking again, his head bowed.

"I am deeply sorry Harry." Dumbledore raised his eyes to meet Harry's, and they looked old and tired. "I never wished for you to have to live with such treatment. It must have been a difficult burden to bear."

"Yes sir. I just don't want to go back" he answered quickly, desperately.

"Harry..." Dumbledore slowly shook his head, looking tired and old "I'm not sure you understand, my boy."

"Understand?" Harry was very confused and felt a deep sense of foreboding that he couldn't place.

"Harry…" The headmaster stopped for a moment, closing his eyes and looking pained. When he opened them, Dumbledore looked as if he were searching for the right words to soften a blow, and Harry felt something cold sink inside him.

"You are the _only_ chance the wizarding world has against Lord Voldemort and you are in grave danger. How can I take you away from the strongest protection I can give you?"

The old man stood up and slowly walked over to him

"If anything were to happen to you, I would be sacrificing not only you, Harry, and I hope you know that you are very dear to me, but I would also be sacrificing every man, woman and child who fights against Lord Voldemort. If I were simply an ordinary old man I would do what I could to keep you happy, but as a headmaster, as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix I have to make difficult choices and sacrifices."

"I don't -" Harry began, then stopped when he saw Dumbledore's weary expression. "Sir..." he said, his voice shaking a little, hoping against hope that this man, who he trusted, was not going to say what he thought he was.

"In this case, I'm afraid the sacrifice is your happiness." Harry stared back unseeingly, and Dumbledore continued talking, his eyes averted and his voice old and tired.

"I have to sacrifice both of our happiness to save hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives. If anything were to happen to you, Harry…I have to think of the greater good."

Harry listened, confused and shocked as he began to slowly realise what Dumbledore was saying.

"You must understand Harry…it will be hard, as this lesson is one best learnt through experience and it's a choice best made of one's own volition. But you are a man now … and it is the time to make choices. It is wrong of your relatives to do these things but between that and death…I'm afraid I have tried and failed to find stronger protection for you elsewhere. Sometimes we need to make sacrifices for the greater good. In this case, your safety in exchange for your comfort and happiness, and my conscience."

Harry felt his jaw drop slightly and his become strangely numb.

In Number four, as he thought over this moment, his mind always flew into turmoil, his head was spinning with thoughts so quickly he was unable to think. He knew about self-sacrifice, and he knew Dumbledore understood this, but it was one thing to know it and another to hear it as fact, that he _must _do it. He'd felt as if the stabilisers had been taken off, as if he had been thrown, alone into the unknown. Dumbledore cared more for finishing Voldemort than for Harry's happiness and well-being. Somewhere deep down, Harry knew that Dumbledore was at least partly right, but it was a shock to the system. Dumbledore was on the side of the light, of the Order, but now that Sirius was dead, there was no protector or guardian who was solely on Harry's side, who cared about Harry's happiness above all else.

Harry felt raw, abandoned, first by Sirius and now by Dumbledore. He had no wish to think of 'the greater good'. He had never wanted more than to simply be normal and to be loved, yet now he had a 'destiny' that would probably lead him to his death, and he was being denied the right to live a normal, happy life at all.

From what had seemed like a long distance away, Dumbledore was still speaking.

"I will not condone the abuse and I will personally have a word with the Dursley family, but you must live with them during the summer, at least for the majority of it -"

"No." Harry had interrupted, his voice empty, his mind still ringing with the injustice of it all.

"Pardon?"

"It won't help - you talking to them, it'll just make it worse for me if they feel threatened."

What was the point, he didn't care what they did to him, he just didn't want to have to go back with them, and if he couldn't do that, then what did anything matter? They weren't starving him anymore anyway, he much preferred their indifference.

"Sir – I think I'll just go back to Gryffindor to pack."

He stood and turned to go, mind numb.

"Harry!" suddenly Dumbledore was behind him, voice urgent, but he kept walking anyway "You must believe me when I say that I do not minimise your suffering. I will come and fetch you from your relatives as soon as I can, but you must stay there, at least for part of the summer."

Harry kept walking

…ooo000ooo…

Slumped at his desk, alone in his room in a house where he was more than not welcome, after weeks of summer with nothing but letters for company, Harry had never felt more alone.

In front of him, Dumbledore's letter swum before his eyes

_. … You are being guarded by an Order member at all times - do not seek them out, they are under cover….…I endeavour to keep you updated with Voldemort's actions as much as possible…_

And here, always in the last two paragraphs of Dumbledore's letter, was the part which Harry always dreaded to read yet had forced himself to read it again and again.

…_a family of four in Birmingham - tortured, killed -muggles, two muggle girls in Dorchester - raped, tortured, killed, a wizarding family of three in Edinburgh, all killed, probably tortured - the bodies are mutilated beyond recognition, a fifty-year-old muggle-born witch in Cardiff - tortured, killed, five teenage muggles in Carlisle - tortured and killed, the girls were raped…_

At first, when he had read the letter, he had been shocked. Afterwards he had felt a little grateful to Dumbledore, that he had finally included Harry in all of this information that the Order must also know.

But then, after the first few letters, when Harry began to think properly about the information he was receiving, rather than just being sickened, he had realised that this was news without being news at all. It told him nothing about what Voldemort might be planning next, what Dumbledore suspected was his next major move. This…information, it seemed to be the day-to-day entertainment schedule for the Death-Eaters rather than real information. It was, Harry thought dully, Dumbledore's way of letting Harry know why he must sacrifice his own happiness for the greater good.

"Boy!" came Aunt Petunia's screeching voice from downstairs. Harry, having been addressed thus for the last sixteen years of his life was in no doubt as to who she was summoning, but he didn't move an inch, but continued to stare blankly at Dumbledore's letter, wondering when the next one would arrive, if ever.

He heard Aunt Petunia's footsteps coming upstairs, followed by several sharp raps at the door.

"Boy! Come downstairs! Your uncle and I want to speak to you!"

Harry groaned into his folded arms. Petunia had been trying in vain to get Harry to carry out his usual chores, but so far he had simply ignored them. Clearly she had now appealed to Vernon.

"BOY!" came Uncle Vernon's characteristic bellow from downstairs, and Harry clenched his fists. Judging by their tones, he couldn't see them relenting this time. He dragged himself to his feet and running his fingers through his uncombed hair, made for the door. Heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs. Harry glanced at himself in the mirror on the side of the wardrobe. He looked like death warmed up: pale, thin, with black marks under his eyes, which seemed duller than normal.

THUD THUD THUD.

Harry jumped back as Vernon started hammering his fist on the door.

"Open up right this minute!"

Harry did so, and stared dispassionately back at the short, stout man who glared back at him, moustache quivering with anger.

_I could have lived with Sirius._

"Get yourself downstairs in the kitchen!" he barked "Your Aunt and I want to get some things straight about how things happen in this house! Show some respect!"

Harry plodded down the stairs wearily and stepped into the bright kitchen, wrinkling his nose as the stench of thick bleach assaulted his senses. Aunt Petunia appeared to be in the middle of cleaning as usual, but she had put aside her gloves and apron and was now glaring at Harry. Through in the living room, Dudley was wedged into the leather recliner, clutching a large packet of crisps, his piggy eyes fixed on the television.

"We've had it!" Vernon snapped, and Harry's attention snapped back to his aunt and uncle abruptly. "You've done nothing but laze about since you got back from that freakish school, and we're not having it! Your aunt has told you repeatedly to help around the house, and you've had the cheek to ignore her!"

Harry stared dully back. He wasn't about to change his routine now. He refused to cater to the whims of these people, he wasn't doing them any harm by staying quiet in his room.

"If you think this is how things are going to continue this summer, you've got another thing coming, boy! From now on, you'll do _everything_ that your aunt and I ask you to, is that clear?"

"Whatever." Harry said, the first words he had spoken all summer, and turned to go.

"No!" Vernon bellowed, and Harry felt a meaty palm clamp down on his shoulder and wheel him back around "Don't you dare speak to me in that to-"

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Harry snapped, feeling something break inside of him at the contact. He felt quietly revolted at Vernon's touch, this small minded man who had never done a thing for another person in his life. He hadn't tried laying a hand on him since he'd started Hogwarts, and that'd he'd done so now caused something inside him to flare up. Vernon had mistaken Harry's state of grieving for _weakness._

"How _dare -!_" Aunt Petunia shrieked, but Harry cut her off, ignoring Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be swelling with rage, his usually red skin turning an unpleasant purple shade.

"What the _hell _did you think I was, when they left me on your doorstep, some kind of personal slave?" Harry said impulsively, his voice sharp, then felt an odd satisfaction as his eyes passed over his aunt and uncle's outraged faces.

The television in the living room fell silent.

"Now listen here, BOY!" Uncle Vernon thundered, making Harry's eardrums pop "I'm going to personally make sure that you're very sorry you even _considered _speaking to us that tone -"

"Shut UP!" Harry bellowed back, and then the hot rage that had been simmering deep inside him all week boiled over. Vernon's words were ridiculous, the stupid fat man was so obviously frightened of Harry that his words meant nothing.

"Do you actually think you can _scare _me?" he shouted "You fat, pathetic bastard!"

The atmosphere changed abruptly, and Vernon sputtered pathetically, his hue deepening to a deep violet, but Harry continued.

"That's right, don't try and deny it, you've never done anything worth _anything _in your sad life!"

Harry felt taller, he felt as if his muggle family was cowering in front of him - but Petunia still had spite written all over her face.

"Don't you dare act as if we haven't fed or clothed you for the last sixteen years -" she shrieked

"I am a regional manager at Grunnings you ungrateful whelp!" Vernon shouted suddenly "More than you or your disgusting parents ever-"

"Oh really?" Harry said in a forced calm tone "My parents were employed by the government to fight dark wizards, risking their lives every day to save people. And you think selling _drills_ compares to that?"

"If you expect us to believe your parents were ever anything more than a pair of useless drunks - " Vernon started, but Harry cut him off with a scornful laugh, even as he saw a myriad of sneering Draco Malfoys do the same in his head. Harry was so _angry_… he knew he could be like this, he'd always known. He'd just never considered trying to behave in this way, letting his anger out.

For a moment Harry felt panic as he stared back at his relatives' furiously terrified faces and remembered the darkness, being locked in the cupboard, night after night with the empty feeling in his stomach. It almost overwhelmed him, he felt himself cower slightly before he conjured his inner Malfoy into his head, and straightened up.

"I don't care what you believe, _Uncle _Vernon! Why would I care what a _nobody _thinks? My parents - even I've contributed more to the world than you!"

"As if anyone would care-" Petunia snapped

"I'm famous in my world!" Harry blurted out, feeling weirdly bolstered by the fact, "Can you imagine how many people _do _care? Did you ever think what those _freaks _would do to you if they knew how you've treated me?"

He felt light with triumph as he said this. He had never said such things about himself before, but he felt immensely better now that he had.

"You've seen it, the way other wizards look at me. I've _let _you get away with treating me the way you have."

He felt like a boasting child, but coldly, Harry realised this was the truth. Dumbledore would not remove him from the Dursley's home, but he had offered to make them treat him better. If he had told someone the truth before…

Meanwhile, Vernon was beginning to look angrier and angrier. Harry felt a sudden shock of fear yet again, but he pushed away those feelings. He was never going to feel intimidated by these people again. He shook himself mentally and spoke. "It's going to stop." he said firmly, "I'm not going to let you walk all over me again."

"Poppycock!" Vernon bellowed "We'll treat you the way you deserve! And I don't believe a word of it! Look at you! If you were half of these things, why don't you go and stay with one of your _fans_?"

"I have to stay here." Harry replied steadily

"Feed you own sorry self then!" Petunia shrieked, her face looking quite deranged "You won't be stealing food out of Duddy's mouth anymore!"

"It would do Duddykins a world of good if someone intercepted his food supply." Harry said dryly.

Vernon's face darkened.

"Get out of my house this instant!" he bellowed, pointing a quivering finger towards the front door.

Harry ignored him and went back upstairs. He strode over to his trunk and pulled out the invisibility cloak, his money pouch and his Gringotts key.

He was just about to leave when he realised that Vernon's fat body was blocking his door frame and in three heavy strides his uncle was in front of him, a new expression on his face: fury mixed with something else.

He stepped back, reaching for his wand, but a sweaty hand closed on his neck, and before his hand could close over the stick of holly wood, he was pushed backwards and he hit the wall, his shoulder colliding painfully with the cupboard.

Harry had taken beatings before, this was nothing new - even if it had been a few years since the last one, so he simply scrambled to his feet, intending to make a dash for the door.

But Vernon was charging towards him, and Harry heard his shirt rip as Vernon grabbed him by the collar.

"You will never speak to us in that tone of voice again." Vernon's voice was quiet and threatening, and Harry felt an unexplainable chill in his stomach. Something was different.

He was shoved roughly into a corner, and this time it was his cheek that took the brunt of the blow. Vernon's hand was pressing so tightly around his neck, pushing it so hard against the wall, that Harry though his nose might break.

Harry felt Vernon's musty breath in his ear as his face was pushed harder against the wall.

"Leave. And don't you ever come back." Vernon spat, and Harry could feel the spittle hit his cheek.

Then the pressure on his head was gone, and Harry fell away from the wall, his face throbbing. He could hear Vernon's footsteps move across the room, and as he began to pick himself up, he was startled by the noise of his uncle dragging his Hogwarts trunk across the floor.

"What 're you-" Harry began croakily, then leapt to his feet as with a tremendous volley of crashes, his trunk was hurled down the stairs.

"Out!" Vernon shouted, pointing to the door, finger quivering "OUT!"

He walked until he was sure he was far away enough so that none of the Order members who were watching over the house would notice.

Then he stopped, breathing heavily, to think.

Well, he hadn't expected things to go that far.

He felt shaken, which was understandable. It had been a long time since Uncle Vernon had frightened him - really frightened him, that is. His skin was still tingling with the shock - but now was not the time to think of that. Who knew how long he had to get under cover…

He was fine. He had to be.

Harry took a deep breath, and looked around. After checking no one was watching, he pulled the cloak off, and stuck his wand out over the road, flattening his fringe over his scar as he did so.

BANG!

A bright purple triple-decker bus appeared out of thin air and Harry forced a grin. Now was not the time to panic.

As Stan Shunpike stepped out of the bus, he stepped past him, shoving several galleons into Stan's hands and said "The Leaky Cauldron, please."

He'd hope Stan would take the bribe without any questions, but behind him he heard him say excitedly

"Hey Ern! It's Ha-"

"My name's Neville!" he said loudly turning around. Speaking out loud seemed to break the spell on him, and he felt a bit more normal. "Neville Longbottom."

"But-" Stan began confusedly, then he looked down at the galleons and smirked, a knowing look came into his eye "Oh! Of _course_! Righ' you are, _Nev_!"

Grinning widely, Stan gestured towards the nearest chair, but Harry ignored him, heading for the far corner of the bus, something he came to regret once the bus took off, as every time it braked, all the chairs and their occupants slid towards the front of the bus and when it stopped they slid back again rather violently. By the time they came to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry could feel bruises forming on his knees.

Harry made his way stealthily through the pub to Tom the barkeep, and when the old man turned to him he asked, very politely, where he could find an owl to take a letter for him.

"For you, Mr Potter, you may use my owl free of charge." Tom said cheerily, his wizened face bright with a smile.

Harry thanked him and smiled, but inside he was cursing. He'd forgotten to flatten his fringe again - how was he supposed to get out of here without being spotted?

Thankfully he remained unnoticed at least until Tom supplied him with a quill and a piece of parchment and he backed into a dark corner of the pub to write to Dumbledore.

He'd been thinking of what to write for the duration of his journey on the Knight Bus, but he still couldn't seem to get the words down.

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_I've been kicked out of Privet Drive by my uncle. I know you'll probably want to send me back, but I think this is it. I'll be at Ron's house._

_Sincerely_

_Harry Potter_

It wasn't amazing, but it would do. He'd stay at The Leaky Cauldron tonight, and then floo to the Burrow in the morning. He still didn't feel quite right, after his confrontation with Uncle Vernon, and he felt as if he should sort out his emotions before being surrounded by so many noisy, questioning Weasleys.

In fact, the more he thought about it, he wished he hadn't told Dumbledore where he was going. He suddenly didn't fancy company at all.

_Well, I can always owl later and let them know I'll be another day or two, _he decided.

After installing his trunk in a small but comfortable room, it was starting to grow light, so Harry walked stealthily into Diagon Alley, keeping one hand on his wand and the other in his pocket, clutching his invisibility cloak. He hoped against hope there were no Death Eaters around, and no Weasleys either. He had wondered whether he should wear his cloak, but then dismissed the idea - there was nowhere to hide to take it on and off, and it was unlikely the Gringotts goblins would serve him while he was invisible.

He kept his head down and hurried towards the wizarding bank. To his dismay, he saw that the few early morning customers were being patted down with secrecy sensors. Harry paused, doubts forming in his head for the first time since leaving Privet Drive. What on earth was he doing? All it would take was one exclamation of 'It's Harry Potter!' and any Death Eater in the vicinity would make a beeline for him. He'd left the Order members keeping an eye on him back in Privet Drive…he was on his own now.

But he couldn't turn back.

A vision of Uncle Vernon's sneering meaty face shimmered in his mind's eye.

There was nothing for it.

He stepped forward as the witch and wizard in front of him were checked at the entrance to the bank, but luckily the guard who raised his sensor and moved towards him didn't recognise him; Harry had flattened his hair over his scar carefully. His eyes passed over Harry's face disinterestedly and he began to run the sensor over Harry's clothes in a bored, half-hearted fashion.

"On you go," he said finally, nodding towards the door, and Harry continued feeling relieved. Once inside, he tried not to catch anyone's eye, and headed for the nearest free goblin and placed his key on the desk.

"I'd like to withdraw some money from my account," Harry said " but can I have it in muggle money?"

The goblin looked up, taking the key. "Name?"

"Harry Potter."

The goblin examined the key for a moment.

"And how much muggle currency do you require?"

Harry thought quickly. He wanted a lot of money, but how much?

"Could you tell me how many Galleons I have in my account?"

"Certainly." the Goblin scowled and reluctantly hopped off his stool and disappeared through a nearby door. He returned with a sheaf of papers in his knobbly hands.

Harry felt a little faint at the number the goblin quoted. "Um. Could I have…" he thought for another second. _Surely it wouldn't hurt… _"One thousand pounds? And – fifty galleons, please."

"Of course." the goblin seemed unfazed "We charge one galleon for even ten pounds converted. That comes to a total of one hundred galleons?" he looked at Harry enquiringly.

"That's fine." he replied blankly, stomach churning. _What am I doing?_

The goblin clicked his fingers and a smaller goblin approached them. He whispered something to the goblin, who then hurried off abruptly. Within minutes he reappeared holding a leather purse, which he handed to the first goblin, who then removed a sheaf of fifty-pound notes from it and took a bag of galleons from behind his desk and pushed it towards Harry.

"As you are buying muggle currency you need not visit your vault for your galleons. We will deduct the correct amount later. Would you like to check that everything is in order, Mr Potter?" the goblin handed Harry the money who quickly counted that there were twenty notes, and glanced quickly into the bag of gold coins.

"That's great." Harry said, and pocketed the money.

"If sir would just sign this receipt?"

Harry quickly signed the slip of paper on the desk and smiled weakly as the goblin bid him good day.

_What am I doing?_

…ooo000ooo…

Harry darted furtively back into the Leaky Cauldron, his school supplies to be owled to him later and his new robes in a brown paper bag under his arm. He was yet to receive Dumbledore's owl, so he was heading out into muggle London. He had a vague plan which had occurred to him in the night, which was the reason for the heavy wad of fifty pound notes in his pocket, but it was beginning to seem silly.

He looked down at his baggy muggle clothing flapping in the breeze. He had been wearing these rags like a house elf, as if he belonged to the Dursleys, as if he acknowledged himself as a lesser being, as if he accepted being their slave.

No more. Harry was starting over.

He had to rely on himself. And the first thing he intended to do was establish himself as his own person. He needed to cheer himself up, and he needed to feel confident in taking this big step out into the wide world alone.

He snorted. As if his aunt and uncle had ever been supportive! But at least he'd had a home. Now, Harry was officially homeless - or, if he chose, he could make his own home.

But every time he saw his dirty, tired face in the mirror he felt as if he'd taken a step too far. Could he really handle this? He felt like a runaway child, and his time was running out before Dumbledore came to reign him in.

He needed something to prove to himself that he was a person just as capable of being independent as Hermione. No one would ever doubt that she couldn't handle living in the real world independently - she more or less already did, what with living in a different society from her own parents. She bought her own books, managed her own Gringotts account, and knew more about life in wizarding society than Harry.

He needed to get a grip on his own life, starting from now. And he needed to believe he could do it.

And moreover, he felt awful. His hair was greasy, his shoes were too tight, his stomach was growling, but looking at the delicious lunches the Tom made had had him feeling queasy, and worst of all he looked like a street urchin.

Harry hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to the nearest shopping centre.

…ooo000ooo…

He was dropped off on a busy street filled with muggle shoppers with bulging carrier bags. The taxi driver had pointed out the right building to him, and he hurried towards it, but the shop beside it caught his eye.

It was an opticians. As he paused outside it, a saleswoman clutching a wad of leaflets hurried over.

"Are you thinking about laser eye surgery?" she asked quickly, pressing a leaflet into his hands "We offer treatments for only two hundred pounds, if you sign up today."

"Um." Harry had no idea what laser-eye surgery was, but it didn't sound pleasant. "Actually - I thought - well I suppose I wanted a new pair of glasses-"

"Excellent!" the woman cut in, motioning towards the shop "Would you like me to show you our range? You could walk away today with a designer frame for as little as a ninety pounds!"

_As 'little'? _Harry wondered if he had made the right decision by only taking out only a thousand pounds. Wordlessly, he followed the saleswoman into the shop.

"Geek-chic is very in right now." she bubbled, passing him an oversized pair or red frames to try on. Harry stared at himself doubtfully in one of the mirrors on the wall.

"I don't think I need to look too much more like a geek." he said firmly, handing them back and casting his eye over the array of spectacles on the walls.

"Well, how would you like to look?" the saleswoman enthused "Sexy, sophisticated?" she passed him a pair of square frames.

Harry tried them on uncomfortably. He just wanted to buy any pair of glasses and to get out of there as soon as possible. He looked in the mirror and cringed, then as he turned back to the saleswoman, his eye lit on a poster.

_Time for a change? Try contact lenses! _A pretty lady with a sparkling smile stared glassily at him from the wall. How odd it was when pictures didn't move.

"Would you like to try some contacts instead?" the saleswoman prompted helpfully, following his gaze.

"Erm - how much-?"

"We have disposable lenses, which are cheaper, and ones that will last you up to a month…"

A full half-hour later Harry escaped from the shop, clutching a bag containing his old glasses and several spare sets of contacts to last him through the school year. He was wearing a free, trial pair of lenses which he could barely feel, and although he felt naked without his glasses he was determined to give his new look a go. He wondered if there was a wizarding equivalent of contacts, and resolved to look into it.

Suddenly a barber shop caught his eye and he began to move hastily towards the shopping centre before he made any more drastic decisions - but then a flicker of movement caught his eye and he spun around, reaching for his wand.

It was only an owl.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but tensed up as he remembered what it would be about.

Would Dumbledore try to send him back? Or was the owl being tracked, was he about to be surrounded by Order members and forced to explain how he'd got himself into this mess?

He stepped back into an alleyway, hoping to avoid the attention of muggles as the owl landed on his arm. He fumbled with the letter until he had detached it and unfolded it. The owl flew away.

_Dear Harry,_

_Your relatives have been spoken to, and they are now under the impression that if they cause you any harm, alarms will summon me to the premises. _

_This is, of course, not true, as I need a sample of both yourself and each of your relatives' hair to complete the enchantment. I have their samples, and if you wish for me to follow through with the charm, you may send me yours. _

_Your uncle and aunt were not at all pleased, and were rather vehement about the fact that you had been unforgivably rude to them. As such, I have promised them that you will provide an apology, in return for their allowing you to return. Please do not let me down._

_Kingsley Shacklebolt will collect you from the Burrow tomorrow at one o' clock in the afternoon, so please be ready._

_It worries me that you saw fit to leave the safety of your home, when you could simply have shouted from your garden for the Order members guarding your street. They would have contacted me immediately for you and I would have helped calm down the situation. I can only assume that you had forgotten of their presence in your hurry. It is imperative to keep you safe, please be more careful Harry. _

_Please owl me at any time if you need anything - anything at all._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry swallowed, before screwing up the parchment and stuffing it into his pocket.

His stomach felt hollow, and he wished that he had eaten something now.

He left the alley way and walked towards the shopping centre again, feeling horribly alone. He hadn't told Dumbledore exactly what had happened, so why was it a surprise that he had been sent back to his relatives?

He felt as if his chance to make a new and frightening start had passed. He forced himself to feel relieved. No one would know now. The wad of money hung heavy, untouched in his jeans pocket. No harm done.

This was probably a good thing. Who did he think he was, taking a thousand pounds from his parents money?

He stared at the bulge in his pocket, and was surprised at just how strong the disappointment welling up inside of him was.

Had he really been that keen to start his life independently?

He began to walk slowly out of the alley way, thinking hard.

He'd always wanted to leave the Dursleys, and for a moment he'd let his overactive imagination believe he finally had. He'd always had vague thoughts of living with Ron, and for a short time, Sirius, but today for the first time, he'd thought about true independence.

Maybe it was because he was finally of age, in the muggle world at least.

He wasn't a muggle though. If he was, maybe he'd have sat his muggle exams and have done well enough to merit a job with decent wages. The Dursleys would never have let him stay at school, he would have been kicked out as soon as he'd hit working age - now.

Maybe that was partly why Uncle Vernon had decided to do it? Theoretically, Harry _could _make his own way in the world. _What if he did?_

Harry's mind raced. He could get muggle work during the summer holidays to supplement his Gringotts vault. He was old enough to get a flat! It would work, if only Dumbledore…

His heart sank. If only Dumbledore didn't come and find him and take him back to the Dursleys, as he surely would if Harry wasn't at the Burrow tomorrow at 1pm.

He had a realistic idea of his chances at evading the headmaster for a whole summer.. Perhaps if he had time to research an anti-tracking charm of some sort, and went around in disguise…

_But then_, he thought, _if I can hide at least until term starts - only two weeks - I can spent the whole year researching things like that!_

He stood at the edge of the alley, watching the chattering shoppers go about their mundane lives. He so badly wanted to do this, all of a sudden. Now that the idea had occurred to him, he thought it would drive him mad, sitting alone in his room at Privet Drive when he could be out here, living his life.

He was sure it wouldn't work. He wanted to do it though, if only for a few days of freedom before being caught.

A grin working its way onto his face, he stepped out into the sun.

22


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I'm not making money from this._

The clean white interior of the building was filled with bustling muggles, and Harry walked as slowly as he could, feeling intimidated by the glossy storefronts. What had happened to his life? He remembered being a little scared of places like the apothecary in Diagon Alley with its old fashioned and gloomy exterior, and its shelves inside filled with bottled animal parts and pickled plant life, but now he felt as if, were he to see a shop like that in here, he would hurry in just to escape the gleaming plastic displays.

When had he become so used to being a wizard that the muggle world made him feel unwelcome?

He wandered into the nearest store, a shoe shop, and walked around from shelf to shelf looking at all the shoes. It was hard to pick things which he thought made him look good – until now he had never been able to pick his own clothes, apart from his school uniform, and that didn't really count as being his own choice.

Nevertheless, he survived his first foray into the world of fashion and emerged from the store some time later clutching several bags and feeling distinctly cheated. What was it with muggle salesmen? He was sure they weren't lying when they'd told him that all the shoes were the height of fashion, but since when had he cared about that? How on earth had he been persuaded to spend that much money on footwear?

Having spent nearly a quarter of his money already, Harry decided to stop and think carefully about his next purchases. He pretended to window shop as he thought about what he wanted to get next.

Clothes, of course he wanted his own. He kept catching sight of his reflection in the glass windows of shops and marvelled at how different he looked without his glasses. Would people even recognise him as Harry Potter without them, if he hid his scar? He was sure that if he bought himself some decent clothes, even Ron and Hermione wouldn't recognise him.

The only thing was, he wasn't sure what sort of look he was going for. Maybe he should look around the shops and see what sort of clothes he liked?

He made his way to the nearest menswear shop, but everything seemed to remind him of uncle Vernon. He left and looked around to see where other boys his age were shopping and decided against going into a sports shop. _Don't want to come home looking like one of Dudley's friends _he decided, and spotted a fashionable looking shop a short distance away.

Initially Harry found himself baffled by the vast array of clothes. He saw a few tshirts he liked and, picking up a basket, decided to buy them. Then he realised that he would need jeans too, and identified a few likely looking pairs. Looking down in his basket, Harry was somewhat disappointed to see how ordinary his selections looked. They were only better-fitting versions of the clothes that Petunia and Vernon had given him. He hung them all back on their racks and decided to get the basics first and grabbed several neutral coloured pairs of socks, and some expensive-looking boxers.

_What kind of look do I want?_ he thought, looking at the youths around him. Many wore just jeans and t-shirts, a few were exhibiting the 'geek-chic' look that the optician saleswoman had tried to sell him, but Harry couldn't see himself looking cool in v-neck jumpers with their rather ugly and old-fashioned patterns. Some people just had an aura about them; they carried off their look well. The girl at the till looked stunning in a dress that would make Hermione or Ginny look as if they were wearing old curtains. But then Hermione and Ginny didn't do their hair like that; in a messy up-do, or wear heels or earrings.

Harry decided that if he wanted to look good he needed to be a bit more daring. _But not too much _he decided quickly. If _I don't look comfortable with what I'm wearing I'll just look ridiculous._ His eyes rested on a group of boys outside the shop, dressed in black and adorned with chains and spikes. _TOO different …don't need everyone thinking I've become a Death Eater over the summer._

He chuckled at the thought, and wondered if Malfoy would think he had turned Dark and would try to befriend him.

He examined several other teenagers around him. Many of them seemed to get most of their look from their hair, and he even spotted a few haircuts he liked enough to get himself. He toyed with the idea of getting an earring, but decided against it, and hurriedly shook his head to get the ridiculous idea out of it. Wizards just didn't _do _things like that! Except Bill Weasley, but somehow that was different. He could only imagine, with horror, the reaction he might get from Snape if he walked into class with an earring.

Eventually he found a couple of pairs of jeans that looked sufficiently 'interesting', with rather impressive price tags and, with an eye on his depleting money supply, found some t-shirts and jumpers that looked pretty good. He made sure that all his selections looked nothing like anything Dudley would ever wear. He spent some time deliberating over a fancy leather jacket but in the end decided he'd rather have a dragon hide one, and resolved to look for one in Diagon Alley.

As he stood in the checkout line he added some trendy looking bracelets and a necklace after realising that several other boys in the queue were wearing them. At the last moment he decided against two of the bracelets and picked up a belt, and then wondered if buying any of this was a good idea after all, but by then it was too late and most of the clothes were in plastic shopping bags and Harry gaped at how much it all came to.

Pockets somewhat lighter, Harry stopped to sit down on a conveniently placed bench to watch the muggles pass by and attempt not to have a panic attack. He had never spent money so frivolously in his life. And so much of it…

He looked down at his numerous shopping bags, head spinning. What had he been thinking? He wore robes most of the year, for goodness sakes! The thought of taking all his purchases back to the shop entered his head, and he half got to his feet before he caught sight of his reflection in a nearby window.

A small, skinny, boy draped in what looked like elephant skin gazed back at him.

He sank back onto the bench, staring.

His hair was thick and untidy, and not in a good way. It was almost down to his shoulders. His face was pointy and hollow looking. He had dark smudges under his eyes. Without his glasses, he looked like a lost sheep, but when he remembered what he had looked like with the awful contraptions on, he realised dully that it was an improvement. His clothes were far too large. He looked like he had wandered in from the street, he was even surprised no one had pulled him up about where such an obviously poor person had gotten so much money from.

Abruptly, he decided to get rid of Dudley's old disgusting clothes, and as he stood up he looked over his reflection once more. He'd forgotten he was so painfully short. He headed into the nearby public toilets and put on some artfully ripped blue jeans, a black and red t-shirt and a pair of his new designer shoes. He revelled in the feeling of wearing socks and underwear that were actually new, and got several odd looks from muggles emerging from the toilet cubicles for standing and beaming at himself in the mirror for such a long time.

Wasting no time, he headed for the barber shop he had seen, dumping Dudley's old clothes in the nearest bin as he went.

…ooo000ooo…

Ron waited near the entrance to platform 9¾ for Harry to arrive. They hadn't seen each other all summer and he was worried about how his friend had been holding up, forced to stay with that bloody awful muggle family of his. Beside him, Ginny flicked through a magazine while their mother fretted quietly about how skinny Harry was likely to be, and whether the muggles had been treating him well. _Probably not, _Ron thought dolefully as he reminisced about how Harry had appeared every other September 1st, scrawny, pale and wearing ragged muggle clothes.

It was strange, with only himself, Ginny and their mother standing on the platform. Mr Weasley had rushed away at the last moment to sort out a problem involving a screaming pay phone in Wigtownshire and the other Weasley siblings were all too old for Hogwarts now. Even Ginny looked more grown-up, thought Ron ruefully, imagining all the potential boyfriends he'd have to chase off this year. Ron himself was taller than ever, his large hands and feet emphasizing his long arms and legs. The only change however, that Ron had noticed - and one he was rather proud of - was that he was now able to start shaving. Beside him Ginny rolled her eyes after she peered over _Witch Weekly _to see him dreamily reach up to rub his patchy stubble once again.

He wished Harry would hurry up; he had received rather short replies to all of his letters and he had spent the whole summer with the worry of how alone, bored and possibly mistreated Harry would be nagging at the back of his mind. _If those muggles bothered him in the slightest, I'm going to send them a box of Fred and George's self-igniting firecrackers, _he decided.

Both Weasleys jumped rather suddenly as a rattling luggage trolley topped with a large cage containing a snowy owl burst through the barrier beside them and sped on, rattling across the platform. If it weren't for the stretch of runway that people instinctually left clear, Harry, a tousle-haired blur, would have mowed down half the crowd.

"It's Harry!" exclaimed Ginny needlessly, throwing her magazine down and leaping off her trunk, her shining hair catching Ron in the eye as she sped after it. Ron, rubbing his eyes, ambled after her although up ahead the trolley and its owner had disappeared into the crowd.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry finally reached a quiet part of the platform where he could stop and think. No one approached him, so he hoped that Tonks and Kingsley had either lost him in the crowd or finally gotten the message: he was not pleased to see them.

How Dumbledore had the _nerve, _Harry fumed, to force him to stay in Privet Drive for the _entire _summer, and then suggest that the Dursleys take him to King's Cross, especially after what Harry had confided in him, was beyond belief. He usually stayed with the Weasleys for a week at least. The headmaster could have at least allowed an order member to escort him to platform 9¾, or let him go with the Weasleys, but he had been forced to ask for a lift from the extremely unwilling, and rather rude Dursleys, who had barely allowed him back in their home after the way he'd treated them before his trip to London.

Aunt Petunia had looked like she had seen a ghost when she had answered the door to Harry with all his shopping bags. She then seemed to catch herself, and glared at him before walking away quickly. Harry had glumly made his way up to his room and begun unpacking. His flight of freedom had been short lived. When it had come to the time he was supposed to go to the Weasleys, Harry had remained sitting on his bed in the Leaky Cauldron, quietly determined that he was going to spend the rest of his summer here. He hadn't been surprised at all when Tom came knocking at the door to tell him the headmaster of Hogwarts was downstairs asking for him. He'd had his chance to make a run for it. He could have found somewhere less well known to stay. However when it came down to it, it was only a few weeks at the Dursleys, and then he could spend the entire year planning how he would gain his freedom properly. That, and Harry was at a loss as to how to do it without coming across as a silly runaway child. He couldn't see how he could escape Dumbledore, even for two weeks.

He hadn't seen his family much for the rest of the summer, Dudley and Vernon refused to look him in the eye and left a room whenever he entered it. He had not stopped worrying about sleeping with his wand though.

It had been another lonely and boring summer, and although he had not been harmed, he noted that when he was given food it was always either over or undercooked, and often two or three days old. He wondered if the Dursley were hoping he'd die of food poisoning. He pretended to eat the food, though he always flushed it down the toilet before going for a 'walk' - a walk here meaning a trip to McDonalds or the local Chinese takeaway.

When he had asked the Dursleys for a lift to Kings Cross, it was the only time he'd spoken to him since the Incident. Vernon and Petunia had frozen in their places at dinner as Harry had popped his head around the door, saying blithely "Professor Dumbledore says that he expects you to give me a lift to King's Cross, would that be okay?"

Petunia had looked at Vernon in panic, who had nodded stiffly, before turning his chair slightly away from Harry.

The journey had been silent, the Durlseys edging away from him as he got into the car. Dudley's hand was white from gripping so hard on the door handle, as if he hoped to spring out of the car and escape at every traffic light.

Harry barely had time to get his trunk out the boot before Vernon's car sped away. They didn't even wait for him to shut it properly.

If it wasn't bad enough that he had had to travel with the Dursleys instead of with the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore had ordered several order members to surround him at all times anyway, but to stay under cover.

_What's the difference, _Harry fumed _between travelling with the Order and travelling with the Order undercover? _Surely it wouldn't have killed Dumbledore to let Harry have some fun that summer?

The way Tonks (disguised as a middle-aged woman with bushy black hair) had winked at him on the way to the platform, made him furious. He had glared at her, enjoying watching her recoil in shock. How dare she think this was a joke! Despite her hiding in his hedgerows all summer, she had avoided him every time he tried to speak to her. She must have known he was all alone and desperately in need of company, and now she had the audacity to _wink _at him as if they were best of friends!

And then Shacklebolt, another lurker in the hedges of number four, had smiled slowly at him when Harry had spotted the auror standing almost out of sight behind a group of muggles, and he had glared at him too. Harry let out a sigh and leant back against the wall, letting his head fall back and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down before he ran into his friends on the platform.

Ron and Hermione's letters had made this summer even worse. Ron's correspondences were full of descriptions of the cheerful hustle and bustle of life at the Burrow, and Harry lay awake at night, when he couldn't sleep for regrets and thoughts of Sirius, reading the letters, and when news came of Bill and Fleur Delacour's engagement, he found himself wishing he was there to see for himself the strangeness of Fleur staying in the Weasley home, amidst the patchy armchairs and the frolicking gnomes, and the untidy front yard where chickens pecked at the dusty ground.

When he had received his OWL results, an urgent letter from Hermione followed not long after, and he felt wracked with loneliness, wishing he could witness her excitement at her results in person, and be there to laugh with Ron at her disappointment at having only one less-than-perfect mark - an E in DADA. He wondered if Sirius would have been proud of his OWL results.

The noises of the platform washed over him, the squeaking of luggage trolleys, the shouting of children, the scoldings and tearful goodbye's of parents…Someone quite near him was sobbing rather pathetically and Harry found himself listening unconsciously to the scraps of words which reached his ears through the noise of the crowds.

"…how will I cope? … never done this … _alone!_"

Harry opened his eyes and looked around curiously. A family with two lively toddlers had moved in front of him and he couldn't see past them, but he could still hear the voice - a woman's - crying pitifully.

"…without your father … every year to see you off, and now…_sob…_what will I do …in the house alone, all year…"

Harry felt a lot of sympathy for the woman, whoever she was, he knew what it was like to be alone, never mind being away from someone as important as a spouse. In front of him, the small family moved out of the way and Harry saw there was no one behind them. Curiously he moved forward, and noticed that to his left there was a corner where he was sure the crying was coming from. He tried to be inconspicuous as he looked around the corner to the tearful scene which awaited him.

A thin woman with long blonde hair stood in the shadows, holding her shaking arms tightly in her own hands, her proud back straight, but facing into the corner. Beside her, Draco Malfoy stood awkwardly, twisting his hands, with the most terrible look of helplessness on his face that Harry felt a pang of sympathy for him even as he realised with a jolt who the crying woman was.

"Don't worry mother," Malfoy said awkwardly, raising his hand to place it on her shoulder, then pulled it back quickly before he actually touched her, as if afraid of getting shocked.

"I'll write every day, and visit on the holidays, on the weekends if you-" his voice trailed off, as if realising that his offers of comfort were no consolation at all to this woman.

Harry felt rather odd, seeing Malfoy in this kind of situation, acting like he actually cared about someone else, however small the effect they had on his mother. Once again Malfoy tentatively raised a pale hand, finally patting Mrs Malfoy's shoulder in a consoling but inadequate manner, as if he had never actually touched her before. Harry hadn't seen him look so tense since first year when they'd had detention together in the forbidden forest.

As Malfoy's hand patted her shoulder a second time, Narcissa whipped around, pulling her son's hand off her shoulder, wiping her eyes furiously. Malfoy looked upset but unsurprised at her rejection, he merely pursed his lips and looked down.

"Of course I'll be fine. And so will you, Draco. Make your father proud this year-"

Harry heard someone calling his name and turned around, wondering at the fact that Draco Malfoy seemed so formal with his own mother even in private.

Ginny Weasley was running towards him, her expression full of joy and admiration. She stared up at him after she came to a halt.

"Hey Harry, it's really good to see you again!" she babbled, looking him up and down "Wow!" she exclaimed, as her eyes lingered in a way that made him feel uncomfortable "You look really good, when did you get your hair done?"

"Hi Ginny." he tried out an uncomfortable smile. He'd never felt quite as at home at her side as he did with most of her family. "Thanks, I got it done at the beginning of the summer." Harry couldn't help noticing there was something different about her, about the way she walked and how she held herself. As he'd begun to speak she had moved a little closer to him.

"It looks amazing." Ginny breathed, her eyes glowing

"Where's Ron?" Harry replied quickly, but in the friendliest voice he could muster. He just couldn't be bothered with dealing with Ginny's crush at the moment, something he had thought that she had gotten over long ago. However the sultry smile that was appearing on her face said otherwise, and with a bit of panic, he sensed something unpleasant was coming

"Actually, I wanted to speak to you myself for a bit first." she said, her voice apologetic but her smile ruthless. "There's something I wanted to say."

Ginny seemed to be steeling herself for something and Harry felt a sinking movement in his stomach.

"Is that okay, Harry?" she said his name as if it was something edible, stepping closer to him, walking in a way that he associated more closely with Lavender Brown or Cho Chang, a movement which tended to draw attention to the curves of a girl's body.

"Uh…okay." he mumbled, hurriedly stepping back, but his shoulders collided uncomfortably with a wall. However then she gave a coquettish smile, and Harry found it very difficult to keep his eyes on her face; she was wearing a rather low-cut muggle top instead of one of the more childish t-shirts she normally wore at the Burrow during the summer…

At the same moment that he realised that he was attracted to her, Harry felt himself getting distinctly uncomfortable with the situation. This was Ron's little sister, and he wouldn't be thinking of her in this way at all if it weren't for the tight top she was wearing. Ginny had always been pretty, but Harry had always found her personality a little tiring, and here he was, considering saying yes to the question she hadn't yet asked simply because of her body. He felt angry at himself, and a little disgusted at both of them, he had never thought of Ginny as cheap - not that it wasn't okay for a girl to make a bit of an effort, but still, flaunting her assets on purpose was a bit much from his best friend's baby sister. He decided to cut off this conversation before it got worse, but as he opened his mouth, Ginny began talking.

"I know that you know I've liked you for a long time Harry - "

"Stop!" Harry blurted out quickly, as Ginny deliberately bit her lip, jolting Harry even further into the uncomfortable zone.

"What?"

"Ginny, I know you like me, but it's not going to happen."

It came far more sharper than he had meant it to, and he internally cringed. For a moment Ginny looked mortified, then she seemed to brace herself again, and stepped even closer. Their bodies were centimetres apart, and Harry was braced against the wall to avoid breathing in her breath, as if it were deadly poison.

"Don't say that Harry, I'm older now, more mature. I'm not a little girl anymore and I like you for different reasons now." Her eyes flicked up and down, travelling over his body. The shock must have shown on Harry's face because she seemed to realise she'd gone too far and quickly added

"I meant I've got to know you," her voice sounded brave but it shook almost imperceptibly "I like you for your personality, not just because you're handsome."

Sensing a slight friction on his jumper, he realised her breasts were now touching his chest slightly and he felt an odd sort of wild panic at how close her face was; it made his palms sweat and his face burn as if he were in a sauna rather than on a train platform.

"No Ginny. You're Ron's little sister -" he said with an air of desperate command, as if trying to pacify a large snarling dog about to bite him, only to be cut short.

"What's that got to do with anything?" she stepped away, flaring up, her chocolate brown eyes alight with he anger "I can date you if I want to, I won't hold back just because Ron doesn't want to share his friend!"

"Listen Ginny-" Harry snapped, his courage returning now that she had retreated a little, but Ginny talked over him

"I'm pretty sure you like me back," she said loudly, then added a little smugly, stepping closer again in a very obvious manner "I saw the way you were looking at me!"

Only then did she seem to register the tone that Harry had taken with her, because she added a little spitefully "and just because you've had a bad summer, don't take it out on me!"

Harry's temper flickered and snapped as Ginny was almost fully pressed against him at this point. It was as if she was still hoping he would sweep her up into his arms while was she screaming at him.

"Will you take a look at yourself!" he hissed at her, making her fall silent "You're fifteen years old and after five years of tagging along after me you think that I'll give you a snog or two if you hint at what you can do for me now that you're - he imitated her voice 'a big girl!'"

The way she had thrown in the comment about him having 'a bad summer' as if it was nothing, had inflamed him, and he felt like he couldn't stop himself. The more he blurted out, the more he felt he needed to justify himself. He didn't care that Ginny's face was white and her mouth gaping open in shock.

"I'm sorry Ginny. I just expected better from you," then his anger rose again as he considered her words " - and not only because you seem to think I'm the kind of guy who'll betray my best friend just because you're flashing a bit of skin at me!"

There was an awful silence as spots of colour began to form high on Ginny's cheeks.

Then suddenly there was a sharp crack as her hand connected with Harry's face.

"How dare you!" Ginny spat at him as she backed away, her face now almost fully crimson with anger, and her eyes horribly bright, and then before he could say another word, she swept around and marched off into the crowd while Harry stood, stunned at what had just occurred.

There was another moment of silence where the background hustle and bustle of the platform seemed to have faded away as he stood there, frozen. Then -

"Well said Potter!"

Harry turned sharply and felt a flash of fury as he saw Malfoy standing there, arms folded, smirking. He clenched his fists and waited for Malfoy to give him a reason to hit him, but all the Slytherin did was unfold his arms and walk away.

As Harry stood alone, face stinging and utterly confused by everything that had happened in the last couple of minutes, he was taken by surprise when Ron suddenly loomed up out of the crowd and grabbed him by the collar.

"What the hell - " he snarled "- did you say to my sister!"

Once again, Harry's personal space was invaded by a red head and before he could even think, he shoved Ron away from him, causing Ron to react violently.

"Watch it! Are you going to explain to me why my sister was running away from you crying!"

He didn't let go of Harry, rather he jerked him roughly by the collar.

"Get off me." Harry said coldly, but Ron didn't move.

"Ron! What are you doing!" Mrs Weasley's voice cut in, and he saw another red haired figure appear in the vicinity.

"Just tell me what you did to her!" Ron shouted in his face "If you hurt her -"

Once again Harry's currently fragile temper snapped. Just what kind of person did people think he was? When had he ever laid a finger on any girl, let alone Ginny? He had just had to practically scrape her off his robes five seconds ago! Did Ron even know him at all? Before he knew what he was doing, not caring about the crowd gathering around them, his fist was speeding upwards towards Ron's chin and he punched him.

As Ron staggered backwards and the crowd around them gasped, Harry took off, grabbing his trolley speeding around a shocked Mrs Weasley. He was through with this, he couldn't stand another moment around the Weasleys.

…ooo000ooo…

When Hermione entered the carriage she found Ron and Ginny sitting in silence. Ginny looked tearful and Ron angry and was rubbing his chin, which had a rather large bruise forming on it. She dragged her trunk inside and wondered whether she really wanted to ask.

"Where's Harry?" she said with forced calm, moving Pigwidgeon's cage off Ron's trunk "And what's wrong with you two?" she added as she hefted her own trunk on top.

"I don't care where _Harry _is," snapped Ron "and as for what's wrong, he punched me!"

"What!" Hermione gasped, dropping into the seat beside Ginny in shock, whom she noticed was keeping strangely quiet for once.

"I know, can you believe his nerve!" Ron exclaimed, gesturing wildly.

"But why? What did you say to him? That's not like Harry at all!" Hermione worriedly wondered if things were worse with Harry than she'd imagined. She'd worried about him all summer, being isolated for so long after Sirius's death…

"Harry seems a little different this year" Ginny muttered, catching Hermione's attention again while Ron answered her question.

"I asked him what he'd done to make my sister cry, that's what!" bellowed Ron "I swear if he dare show his face in here after that -"

"Well what _did _he do?" she asked sensibly

"He - well - what does it matter! He wouldn't tell me, which just goes to show -"

"Ginny," Hermione cut in "What happened with Harry?"

Ginny went bright red and muttered something

"What did you say?" Ron demanded "Just tell me Ginny, don't worry, I won't let him near you again!"

"Shut up Ron!" Hermione snapped, and turned back to Ginny, who looked very embarrassed

"He didn't do anything," Ginny said quietly

"Oh come on -" Ron interrupted

"Ron! Go on Ginny."

"I asked him out." Ginny suddenly blurted out, her face crimson "He said no. Said he wasn't interested."

There was a pause.

"Is that _all_!" Ron exclaimed incredulously "He must have said something else"

"Shut up Ron!" Ginny snapped at him "I wouldn't expect you to understand about relationships! This is all your fault anyway-"

"MY fault!?"

"- he said he didn't want to betray his friend by dating me, and there you were shaking him around by his collar!"

"Oh Ron you didn't!" gasped Hermione

"What?" Ron looked stricken "He said that?"

Ginny stood up, looking angry. "Yes he did, and if I were him I'd do more than just punch you!" she stalked to the door "I think I'll go and sit with my friends for the rest of the journey before he gets here."

Ron slumped back into his seat, looking devastated "I'm an idiot."

"Yes you are!" Hermione said exasperatedly, "I don't expect he'll come in here if _you _ask him - I suppose I'd better go and get him so that you can apologise." and with that, she abandoned her seat and headed out into the corridor.

She hesitated outside the compartment door, trying to decided where to search first.

_What a start to the year, _she thought crossly.

After a moment, she began to walk up the train, taking time to look carefully into each compartment for Harry's face. Four carriages down, there was still no sign of Harry and she began to walk back, considering joining Ginny's compartment and asking any of the girls in there if they had spotted him. However she hovered outside the door indecisively as she heard the topic of conversation.

"Ginny sweetie you must have done something wrong - did you do everything, just like I how said? That approach has never failed for me - did you wear the top I sent you?"

Hermione recognised the rather loud, obnoxious voice of Romilda Vane.

"Of course - I'm wearing it now, aren't I?"

"Oh - of course you are - why are you wearing that scarf over it though? Poor Harry wouldn't have got a decent view with that in the way!"

"Mum would have thrown a fit if she saw it! I wasn't wearing it then - he didn't seem to think much of it any way. Romilda I just don't think Harry's that kind of boy-"

"Don't be silly, just because he's nice doesn't mean he's not a red blooded male - oh Ginny!"

Hermione's initial disgust at Ginny using her body to attract a boy in that way dissolved as she heard the younger girl's sniffles coming from inside the compartment.

"I just feel like such an idiot 'milda-"

"-there there - "

"- he looked really - really nice." she sobbed "He had new clothes, and his hair was all styled, and - and he looked at me like I was some kind of - of _whore _- "

At this, various cries of "_No_!" and "He _didn't_!" were gasped from all corners.

Hermione wondered when Harry had gotten a makeover, it wasn't very like him to be fashion conscious after all.

"Listen to me Ginny," came Romilda's bossy voice again "If you really want Harry, you'll just have to keep at it, you can't give up!"

"No" came Ginny's rather small voice, and Hermione could picture her tear-streaked face as she spoke "I just don't think I can feel the same way about him after that." Hermione could have cheered, Ginny's crush was getting tiresome all round, but the next voice that piped up almost had her banging her hair against the compartment wall.

"Maybe you need a new crush!" came the new voice

"I don't really -"Ginny began, but she was cut off by Romilda again;

"Don't tell me you saw him too!" she squealed

"Oh I did! Did you see he's grown his hair-"

The other girls all began to chime in

"His _gorgeous _blond hair-"

"-the way he walks -"

"his skin - its so pale, like a vampire, but sexy -"

"Did you see his cloak - I'm sure those were real diamonds in the buttons"

"Forget his cloak! I want to talk about what's underneath it!"

There was a spatter of girlish giggles

"Seriously - do you think he works out? "

"I take it you're talking about Malfoy?" Ginny's voice interrupted a fresh round of giggles and Hermione started - they were gossiping about _Malfoy?_

"Ginny hon, I think you should get yourself a bit of bad boy, maybe Potter's sort isn't your type!"

"I bet Draco wouldn't have turned you down in that top!" another girl giggled

At this point Hermione began to move away, rolling her eyes in disgust. She hoped she misheard Ginny's answer though, but it sounded suspiciously like

"Oh I don't know - but he does have rather lovely eyes, doesn't he?"

…ooo000ooo…

Harry paced up and down the train corridor, furious with Ron. He'd left his trunk in what had been an empty compartment, but was now full of giggling fifth year girls and he had no desire to retrieve it. He looked up for a second and to his horror saw Ginny emerging from a carriage up ahead and come storming towards him, but she hadn't seemed to have spotted him yet.

He quickly retreated back into the previous carriage and looked around for a compartment he could go into until she passed.

He moved to look into the closest one and stepped back hurriedly when he heard Malfoy's voice drifting out the open door:

"…of course Mother is having the gardens redone so I daresay she'll be busy making sure everything goes to plan during term time…"

Panicking, Harry glanced up into the next carriage, only to sigh with relief as Ginny entered a compartment up ahead without seeing him. Unfortunately it was the one with his trunk in; he could tell by the crescendo of giggling female voices that greeted her as she went in. It looked like he was going to be spending the entire journey in the corridor.

"…_is she coping alright, now that you father is…away?" _

Harry's ears pricked up and he found himself listening in too Malfoy's answer.

"Of course. Mother is quite capable of running things on her own, and while she's disgusted with the current situation, she has far too much to be getting on with to get caught up in pointless worrying - of course you do realise that father will be out before long?" someone said something to quiet for Harry to say but Malfoy replied loudly "Yes, of course, _He _relies on my father far too much to let him be kept there too long." the same voice made another query, to which Malfoy answered "Of course I'm fine" rather tersely.

This was all contrary to everything Harry had previously heard, both from the scene he had witnessed on the platform, and from Dumbledore last term, who had said that Voldemort was furious that Lucius had made such a blunder in the ministry escapade last year, and that he was lucky to be locked in Azkaban where Voldemort couldn't get at him - for the current time anyway. He bent his head forward so that he could hear the quiet conversation in the compartment.

Suddenly there a voice spoke behind him, making Harry jump. He whirled around and found himself face to face with Ron, who looked upset and nervous.

"Harry? Hermione went looking for you, but she's been gone a while so I thought I'd - well just hear me out, okay?" he took a deep breath.

"I should have waited to hear the full story - just Ginny looked so upset and she'd just been talking to you, she said, and I -" Ron took another steadying deep breath and looked Harry in the eye

"If you want to punch me again, mate, there'd be no hard feelings. I'm really sorry."

Harry brought his focus onto Ron; half of his mind was still on Malfoy's voice which was still coming out of the open carriage door.

"You still haven't apologised for thinking I could hurt Ginny in that way." he said flatly, disregarding Malfoy's conversation, even though he heard interesting snippets of sentences, including the words "plans", and "_Him_" said emphatically once or twice.

"I am sorry Harry. Of course I don't think - well, I know you're not like that. I don't know why I said it! I just do things without thinking sometimes-"

"I think I noticed." Harry said dryly, rubbing his neck where his collar had cut into him earlier

"Yeah…sorry about that, about everything. I also want you to know I have no problem with you dating Ginny."

Ron looked as if this final statement cost him a lot, but he held out his hand for Harry to shake "No hard feelings?"

Harry stared at his hand, feeling angry. He wasn't sure if he would accept an apology, but he had no desire to spend the rest of the term alienated from Ron. He had experienced enough of that in fourth year. Forcing himself to think about this sensibly, he slowly reached out a hand

"I don't know about that - no hard feelings. I … need some time. But for now we can make up." he tried not to feel pleased at the hurt on Ron's face. Did he expect Harry just to forgive him immediately. "And I'm not interested in Ginny." Harry tried to move to the side and make his way back up the corridor, but Ron didn't want to seem to move just yet; he leant against the wall in front of Harry, sagging in relief.

"Good," he said fervently "not that I was lying, you know" he added quickly "but it would have been weird for me if you and her -"

"I know, trust me" Harry cut in. He had no desire to think about it either, but he felt a twitch of annoyance that Ron seemed more eager about his disinterest concerning Ginny than their

friendship.

"-and if you want to punch me," Ron joked, a smile creeping onto his face "- the offer still stands!"

"I'll take you up on that, Weasel!" came a jeering voice, causing Harry and Ron to whip around, their hands diving into their pockets for their wands in unison.

"Fuck off, ferret!" Ron snarled, advancing on Malfoy, only to stumble back a little when Crabbe and Goyle loomed up behind the blond boy.

"That's a bit rich, coming from a Weasel!" smirked Malfoy, but they sounded like memorised lines. His nemesis himself looked rather pale and sickly, Harry noted.

"What? Got nothing to say, Potter?"

Harry stared at him, slowly realising that Malfoy was trying to show off for his goons. But why, when Malfoy himself clearly wasn't in the mood for it?

"Where's your glasses? And what's this? Could it be possible that ickle Harry Potter's finally taking an interest in his appearance?" Malfoy sneered, his eyes travelling over Harry's new clothes. "I warn you though, Weasel here can only damage your new image!"

"You shut your mouth Malfoy - " Ron was shouting

"And I'm afraid nothing will hide that disfiguring blemish." he nodded towards Harry's forehead

"I said shut it Malfoy!" Ron snarled

"It's all right, Ron." Harry said calmly

"Huh?" Ron spluttered

"What's that Potter, going to take on all three of us?" Malfoy looked irritated.

_No_, Harry confirmed with himself, _Malfoy just wants this over with as soon as possible so that he could go back inside the carriage. _

Harry decided to do something risky. He laughed. He stepped forward, ignoring Crabbe and Goyle, and laughed in Malfoy's face.

"What the fuck Potter?" Malfoy muttered, looking angry but with a shadow of something else. Harry kept laughing. Malfoy was curious now, he could tell, and he wasn't going to set Crabbe and Goyle on them just yet. That gave them enough time to get far away enough to use their wands without them being snatched out of their hands. Harry took the risk again. He looked Malfoy up and down, copying his sneer,

"Looks like you've lost your touch, _Draco_" he said, then turned sharply and walked away. The second he heard Crabbe and Goyle's large feet start to move he whipped around and yelled "_Stupefy! Stupefy_!", and the two boys crashed to the floor. Ron stepped closer to him, and Malfoy stepped back, and he had his wand out too now.

"Watch yourself Potter!" Malfoy sneered, but looking rather shocked at his tactics.

"Shut your face Malfoy!" Harry said quietly, stepping closer, ignoring the raised wand "It's kind of pathetic, the way you have to beat someone up to get your friends to take you seriously. I heard what you said earlier, about your father, and I wonder what would your friends say if they knew what I saw, on the platform."

Malfoy looked confused

"Ickle Malfoy, crying over his daddy -" Harry's voice lowered even more "and your mum, she doesn't seem to like you much at all, does she?"

Malfoy's eyes flashed with fury, but they flickered over to the direction of the carriage door, where the other Slytherins looked on. From their point of view, the fight looked fairly even, particularly with Ron standing rather gormlessly behind Harry.

"Fighting dirty for once, are we Potter?" Malfoy muttered "Well in that case, I suggest you let me stun you."

Harry frowned. _What? _

"Come now, we don't want to resort to bringing up things _I_ heard earlier!" his pale eyes flicked over to Ron "Although it would be amusing to watch you fight another Weasley off!"

Harry's heart stopped. He'd forgotten that Draco had heard the argument with Ginny. If Ron heard exactly what he'd said to Ginny…

"Tell you what," Draco muttered "You let me stun you and I'll walk away. Weasel can revive you. That'll be it all over with. If you really don't care at all about getting taken seriously by your friends, this won't matter at all."

Harry stared back incredulously. Draco's lip hooked up in a sneer.

"_Stupefy_!" Malfoy shouted suddenly, and Harry felt himself stiffen and he fell backwards onto Ron, who grabbed him to stop him from hitting the floor. In front of them, Malfoy whirled around, revived Crabbe and Goyle in half a second and swaggered back into his carriage to much applause from the Slytherins, leaving Harry and Ron in the corridor as Crabbe and Goyle stumbled to their feet and followed their leader.

"_Enervate_", Ron said quickly, pointing his wand to Harry's forehead .

"What just happened Harry! What did he say to you?" he demanded, helping Harry up.

"Never mind." Harry said, avoiding Ron's worried eyes as he got to his feet, thinking over what had just happened "It was nothing."

"But -" Ron began, but Harry was already hurrying away.

…ooo000ooo…

When Hermione had finally found Harry - it turned out he had been further down the train, she had been going the wrong way - Ron was already with him. Harry didn't look too convinced at Ron's apology and she wondered what he was saying. She was a little startled at Harry's hair, which was styled into the popular 'I've just crawled out of bed' look, not that he had needed it before. It wasn't as if it looked bad, but it just wasn't…Harry. He looked like a completely different sort of person. She sighed and decided to leave the boys to their conversation, because she needed some time to think.

Hermione had had a good summer. She had spent a lot of time with her parents; immersed in the muggle world, she had almost forgotten what it was like to talk with Harry and Ron in the comfort of one of the squishy arm chairs in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. She had positively encouraged herself to forget, in fact - she missed being an ordinary girl and she had almost forgotten what it was like to have a glass of warm milk and settle in front of a nature documentary with her dad, or to go grocery shopping with her mum.

Hermione had realised that some years she had only spent about three months at her home in London. She'd lost touch with all her muggle friends from primary school - not that there had been many, to be truthful - and she hadn't seen any of her cousins in years. She hadn't been ready to lose that part of her life and it had been a small shock when she realised that so much of it was already gone too long to salvage. She resolved to never again let herself forget where she came from. The muggle world was just as important to her as the wizarding one, and she never wanted to lose her place in it.

She hadn't thought of Harry and Ron much at all. Oh she'd written to them, and missed them occasionally, but in all truth she was too busy enjoying her rediscovery of the muggle world, of simple pleasures like riding a bike, using self check-outs at the supermarket and going to the cinema. She'd even made a few tentative moves towards friendship with a muggle neighbour who went to the local high school. True enough it had been awkward at times, and it hadn't really developed into anything, but she was pleased with the effort she had made; she had had the opportunity to experience life as a muggle teenager for a few weeks, and the experience had been new, frightening, but overall, rather exhilarating.

Muggle teenage culture was a world away from Hogwarts and the lives of young witches and wizards. For the first time, Hermione had realised how constraining life at boarding school could be, but in the last week or so of summer, Hermione had begun to feel an excitement she hadn't felt since first year at the thought of returning to Hogwarts, even though she was glad of the experience of what her muggle life might have been like.

Inspired by her unusually rewarding summer, Hermione had all sorts of plans to make her remaining school years at Hogwarts memorable. After experiencing both worlds, she realised both how lucky she was, and what she was missing out on. She had a lot of plans for change, including being a little less hostile to her room-mates. She imagined all the conversations she might have had with Parvati and Lavender. They might have been friends by now if she'd tried a little harder. This year though, she would make an effort - and maybe she would even lay off her schoolwork a little.

This last idea had been one of her mother's. Hermione had been telling her all about the people in her year and how she got along with them.

"I wouldn't say I was popular - If I am, then its probably down to being Harry's friend - people tend to think I'm a bit of a bookworm." she confessed as she stood in the kitchen, cradling a mug of tea.

To her surprise her mother had looked concerned

"Maybe you need to try and socialise a little more dear, it's good that you concentrate on your schoolwork, but…" she smiled, patting Hermione on the back "well, you need to remember that there are other things in life which are important too."

"But mum - if I don't pass my NEWTS - I won't be able to get any kind of decent job!" Hermione protested, surprised

"I thought you would know better than that, Hermione," her mother said, looking surprised too. "Employers don't only care about grades - who will hire someone who doesn't have any social skills? And remember, unfortunately it's just as important _who _you know, as well as what you know."

Hermione hadn't been able to think of a reply. This was the first time her mother had expressed such a view. Until then, exam results had been of utmost importance to her parents.

At this point Mr Granger had chipped in; he'd been listening in the doorway, also holding a mug.

"Hermione dear, it would do you a world of good to have a little fun for once. I know we've both always pushed you hard to do your best - a little too hard I sometimes worry - but there's an important part of your life missing which you'd be much happier if you just took the time to relax and make friends."

"I've got Harry and Ron-" she began, then stopped at the look on her mother's face.

"Darling, it's good that you have them, but they're boys. When I was your age, my friends meant the world to me, but they were girls. It was much better to have things in common with my friends."

"Harry and Ron have lots of things in common with me!" she said, confused.

"You've been through a lot with them, and that's good." Mr Granger said firmly "But can you really talk to them about _everything_?" He paused, looking embarrassed and Mrs Granger stepped in.

"Hermione, there's some things boys just aren't interested in, or don't want to know. I mean, can you talk about _boys _with them?"

"Mum!" Hermione squirmed.

"It's just that these things are important." her mother continued "I understand that you don't want to talk about your love life to an old biddy like me,"

"Mum, don't be silly-"

"No, no Hermione, listen to me sweetheart. If you're not talking to anyone about boys, then you don't have the benefit of others' experience. I'm just worried you might get into a bad situation … I mean, Viktor sounded like a lovely boy, but he was a bit old for you. There's some things you can't understand until you're older things you can't learn from books…I don't want you to get hurt. Older men expect different things from relationships-"

Mr Granger tactfully retreated into the living room.

"Mum!" Hermione exclaimed, feeling her face turn red "I know, okay!"

"Just promise you'll be careful-"

"I will! Mum I'm not even seeing Viktor anymore!"

That much was true, for Hermione was now considering something which she felt both nervous and excited about. She was going to ask Ron out on a date.

Over the summer, Hermione had felt a growing curiosity in the idea of having a proper, long-term boyfriend, feeling oddly left out when her muggle neighbour walked past her house, hand in hand with her sweetheart, swinging their arms as they walked down the street.

This was the first time she'd felt this way, and she felt a pang of loneliness every time the couple stopped to kiss, looking blissfully in love.

Hermione tried to imagine the sort of man she would end up with, who she would fall in love with one day. Someone smart, probably, and although looks weren't important, she hoped he would be handsome. She started assessing the boys that she saw, and after that she found it difficult not to notice the opposite sex, wondering what it would be like to date this or that boy, but her main interest was Ron, and she couldn't wait to see him again, because he was really the only person she could imagine being truly emotionally close to, besides Harry. She wasn't interested in Harry, although exactly why this was she wasn't sure. It was probably because there was just something about Ron that Harry didn't have, something endearing that made her smile even when he made fun of her. He was so light-hearted, and he made her laugh.

However Hermione had only just arrived on the train and Ron was already in a bad mood. She felt let down somehow, as if Ron should have been waiting for her too, excited to see her after spending months apart. Instead he had barely glanced at her, too wrapped up in his own problems to ask her about her summer. It felt awful admitting it, but hadn't it always been this way? She already felt tired of being treated like this. She liked Ron, but how could she be with him if he didn't feel the same? Her previous enthusiasm seemed irrelevant with things viewed in this new, depressing light.

It was early days yet though, she reflected, there was still a chance. She had been friends with Ron for so long, and she knew how kind and caring he could be when he wasn't distracted.

Still, Hermione felt her hear sink a little. She had looked forward to the moments she and Ron would share, as boyfriend and girlfriend, how it would feel to have somebody, to hold someone's hands in the corridors before classes. Now it seemed like that would have to wait, if it happened at all.

Ron and Harry were clattering back into the compartment. Hermione stared out the window, wondering if she would ever have the kind of relationship that she wanted. She supposed that in the end, it didn't matter, she would have to see what Ron was like after he got over the current incident with Harry. If not … she sighed, thinking of the age-old saying: _Plenty more fish in the sea_.

24


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, unfortunately. Or Draco __L__. And, I'm not making any money from not owning them either._

_Here I sit, another year,_

_Another child sits on the chair,_

_I'll whisper in another ear_

_Then shout your house for all to hear!_

_Will you go to Ravenclaw?_

_If books and riddles inspire and awe,_

_And in a test you wipe the floor,_

_In this house you'll learn much more._

_Unless you have also a cunning mind_

_And plans to weave and wills to bind_

_Then to Slytherin belong your kind!_

_And what shall we say of Gryffindor_

_Where the brave don't quail when dragons roar_

_And to save another will face much more!_

_Then Hufflepuff, the loyal ones_

_These faithful chaps will never run_

_Trust a Hufflepuff if you trust anyone!_

_Once again I divide and sort_

_Again I wonder if I ought_

_But if I keep on voicing that - _

_Why there'll soon be no need for a sorting hat!_

There was a round of applause for the sorting Hat, which Hermione joined first. Harry joined in rather mechanically, then after a few claps stopped abruptly and folded his hands under the table. Ron, seemingly wrapped in his own thoughts joined in as the rest of the clapping was dying down.

"Archibald, Helen" shouted Professor McGonagall, and a small girl approached the hat.

"Gryffindor!" called the hat, barely seeming to skim the girl's head before the Gryffindor table

"Pegg, Angela" …

…ooo000ooo…

"I have said this before, and I shall say it again." Dumbledore shouted into the noisy crowd of students as the last first year hurried to the Ravenclaw table. The hall quietened.

"There is a time for everything; a time for speaking, a time for sleeping and a time for eating. This is the latter."

There was a rumble of appreciative laughter

"Whilst you eat," Dumbledore continued, smiling "I hope everyone - especially our newest students - will take their time to get to know the people around them. Appreciate the loyalty and trust you share with your friends, now that you are all reunited. Look not only to your own house for friendship."

People were murmuring; the headmaster did not usually speak this much before the feast.

"In this time of worry and fear, it is our friendships and bonds - the love that we all have inside us - that will save us. Please consider this whilst you enjoy the delicious feast - I must say that once again the Hogwarts house-elves have out-done themselves! Dig in!" he clapped his wrinkled hands and the golden platters and goblets filled themselves with a spectacular array of food.

Ron began to chew on a chicken drumstick half-heartedly. Beside him he could feel Harry's presence, but he didn't have it in him to turn and start a conversation. Things felt awkward between them, uncomfortable and stiff in a way they had never been before. Their friendship had had its ups and downs, no doubt about that. They'd ignored each other, screamed at each other and hugged and laughed with one another. In fourth year, Ron had laughed when people had spread rumours about Harry, filled with jealousy. He had been sick of being the one people didn't notice, being addressed as 'Harry Potter's friend'.

_The thing is_, Ron thought, _as bad as all that was, it was nothing like this._

At the time, he'd thought their friendship was over because he couldn't stand Harry's fame and fortune anymore. Now it felt like he was on the other side; he had a terrible feeling that Harry couldn't stand _him _anymore. The worst thing was, this time if the friendship ended, it would be for a totally justifiable reason: Ron had failed Harry. Again.

He hadn't been there for Harry in the first part of the Triwizard Tournament. In his jealousy, he had overlooked the truth and indulged his own ego. He had convinced himself that Harry had done something wrong for once, that he was a liar.

And now… Ron had once again jumped to conclusions. Seeing his sister run crying away from his best friend, he had immediately assumed that Harry had said something terrible to her, or even worse, tried something. Not that Harry had ever shown any particular interest in Ginny…

Ron stopped eating for a second and took a deep drink of his pumpkin juice, sighing heavily. He hadn't just jumped to conclusions, he had completely lost his mind. What had he been thinking? That his best friend who had never wronged him, who could be trusted on to take care of everyone except himself, would decide to cop a feel from his friend's sister? If he had been Harry, he wouldn't have forgiven Ron for thinking that.

_But of course, this is Harry we__'__re talking about_, Ron thought, mentally rolling his eyes, then immediately felt guilty. He began digging into his roast again. _Just because Harry__'__s such a good friend__…__a good person, doesn__'__t mean he__'__s perfect - hell, I _know_ he__'__s not perfect! I__'__m just being a jealous idiot because I__'__m such a rubbish friend. He__'__ll probably forgive me, even if I don__'__t deserve it._

But would he? He pushed his broccoli to the side of his plate slowly as he contemplated the thing that was worrying him the most. Harry's current mood scared him. The way he had acted with Malfoy had also been odd. Since when had Harry been so … spiteful? He was almost acting just like Malfoy himself. And Harry's new look also made Ron feel uncomfortable; his own muggle clothes were second hand and he'd never had his hair cut by anyone other than his mother. This new Harry made Ron feel inferior and ordinary; even in his school robes, Harry's state of casual disarray and bright green eyes, now not obscured by glasses, had girls as far away as the Ravenclaw table giggling.

And what about the apology he had made to Harry? Had it been enough? They had made up and shook hands, but it hadn't felt right, he remembered, but then he had been too busy being relieved that Harry didn't want Ginny. _Another sterling example of my loyalty_, Ron stabbed a potato. _And what if he did fancy Ginny? I should have been glad such someone I trust wanted my sister, rather than some rat like Smith _- at this, Ron shot a glare towards the Hufflepuff table - he still remembered that first DA meeting in the Hog's Head - _or that Corner bloke! At least I know Harry would always do what__'__s best for Ginny. _Ron guiltily took another swig of his pumpkin juice. _I should know that._

Harry didn't eat. He felt angry and confused. Being back at Hogwarts was much better than Privet Drive, but still…why weren't things back to normal? He felt angry at Ron, although he didn't want to bring up their argument again, and also, once again here he was, being stared at, surrounded by people who all seemed to have their eyes on him. He couldn't stand to look at the headmaster, not after having to stay with the Dursleys again. So what if he would have been in danger anywhere else? What was new? And now, even though he was back at Hogwarts, after his fight with Ron he felt almost just as lonely.

Even as he thought this, Ron sat beside him, eating as if there were no tomorrow. Ron thought that everything was okay, he thought that a simple handshake made everything alright. _Well guess what Ron_, Harry thought savagely, _you don__'__t get to say sorry and then just forget about it all. _

Hermione felt tears pricking at her eyes. She blinked furiously, angry at herself. …_Being ridiculous__…__what__'__s wrong with me? _On the other side of Harry, Ron ate on obliviously, chewing on a bit of pork as if his life depended on it, glugging down his pumpkin juice with a sigh of pleasure. Ron had barely spoken to her so far. And he was so blind! Couldn't he see Harry was hurting? Did he really think his apology, whatever he had came up with, was enough? Evidently not!

_If that boy used his eyes once in a while _- she stopped thinking, feeling hopeless and tired. _If he used his eyes once in a while he might notice me. _

And Harry hadn't so much as looked at her. Not once. Hermione didn't even know what to think about that one. She realised that Harry must have had a terrible summer, but in all honesty she didn't want to know. She'd had a good summer and had returned to school happy and ready to make a few positive changes in her life. She just didn't want to begin term with an argument, and she could see that Harry was angry enough to snap at anyone. She'd expected a few challenges in building a bridge with her room mates, in getting a social life, but she'd expected Harry and Ron to be there for her. To talk to her at least. Or even look at her.

She found her eyes on Ron again. He was spearing a potato with vigour. She clenched her fists and stared at the tablecloth as the remains of dinner vanished and pudding appeared. _I__'__ve got to get on with my own life_, she decided, _I__'__ve never cared this much about what other people think of me. I__'__ve got my goals for this year and I__'__m not going to let these stupid feelings for Ron get in my way._

Hermione lifted her eyes and let them drift across the hall, trying to distract herself. The other tables, like her own, were full of chattering, laughing students. Not so different from one another, but separated by houses. She completely agreed with the Sorting Hat; there had to be more inter-house unity - i_f we can__'__t agree among ourselves, Voldemort will divide and conquer_, she thought with a mental nod of her head.

Hermione could already see herself making new friends in Ravenclaw. Her eyes lingered on Cho Chang, and then Luna Lovegood whose long blond mane swished as she turned her head to talk to her neighbour, the flickering candlelight twinkling in her hair. _Maybe it will be more challenging than that, though. Just because they all share a house doesn__'__t mean that they__'__re all the same. Or even bookworms like me, whatever the Hat says._

She skimmed over the Hufflepuff table. She was already on good terms with most people there, she'd just have to work on spending more time with them outside class and getting to know them.

She looked over at the Slytherin table at the far side of the hall and shuddered. _Let__'__s see__…__Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bullstrode? Zabini, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and - God forbid that I become friends with _him_! _Her eyes flicked over Draco Malfoy who was currently trying to ignore a fork of cake Parkinson was waving in front of his face. Hermione found herself smiling when Malfoy exchanged a glance with his girlfriend, raising his eyebrows the two began to laugh in a very un-Slytherin manner, Parkinson lowering the fork at last, snuggling into his side as Malfoy gave a long-suffering shake of his head.

Hermione caught herself in surprise. Was she _smiling_ at the antics of Malfoy and Parkinson? Whatever next! She didn't dare admit to herself the presence of a wave of loneliness at the sight of the happy couple. She chose to stare at Luna's glistening hair rather than think of this, or of the two silent boys beside her.

…ooo000ooo…

"The very best of evenings to you all!" Dumbledore said, as the last of the pudding disappeared, snapping Hermione to attention. Dumbledore's outstretched hand caught her eye; it was coal black and withered. Several other students noticed it too, judging by the gasps and mutters coming from around the hall. Dumbledore simply shook his sleeve over his hand and continued as if nothing had happened.

"Welcome to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry! To our hardened veterans - welcome back!" There was a smattering of clapping and a few cheers from the older students.

"As I'm sure you all realise, this year things will be a little different, with the terrible occurrences that have been happening more and more frequently lately - I'm sure many of you have been following the tragedies in the _Daily Prophet_."

The hall fell silent, many students bowing their heads or staring down at their laps.

"The return of Lord Voldemort - " Dumbledore obligingly paused for several gasps from his audience "should have resulted in many changes in the way things are run in Hogwarts. Unfortunately, it is only now that I am able to put these plans into operation."

Suddenly the four tables were buzzing with whispers and murmurs, students turning to their neighbours to make surprised exclamations or just to exchange glances.

"But before I get into all of that, I want to introduce your new potions master, Professor Slughorn! "

"What!" Harry's head snapped up

"But Snape's still there!" Ron hissed under his breath, forgetting his awkwardness with Harry

"Ssh!" said Hermione irritably, making them both jump, speculatively eyeing the portly man who stood up and bowed to the hall which was now rife with whispers

"Professor Snape, on the other hand will now be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"No!" shouted Harry, leaping to his feet

Hermione let out a long suffering sigh and pulled him back down to the bench with a thump.

"Don't worry, mate" Ron whispered "Remember, they never last more than a year!"

Harry did not reply, and Hermione gave him a stern look, motioning for silence so that she could listen to Dumbledore.

The headmaster waited for the whispers to die down before he continued speaking.

"In conjunction to this, OWL students who obtained a grade Acceptable and upwards may now continue on in NEWT level Potions-" Harry sniggered at the look of disdain on Snape's face at this proclamation, and then remembered that he needed to take both potions and defence if he wanted to become an auror. This thought distracted him for several long moments before he remembered that the headmaster was still speaking.

"…and the full, annoted list may be obtained from Mr Filch. And now onto the most important topic." Harry sat up straight, curious despite his anger at Dumbledore, along with the rest of the school.

"This year, you will notice that measures are being taken to protect you; this includes aurors patrolling the general area and adding various defensive spells to the grounds. I must ask you not to get in their way as they work. Rules, including the rule that students are not to be out of bed after hours, must be followed, no matter how irksome you may find them. They are in place for your security, and any rule breakers will be punished severely. I urge you all to act with your safety in mind, and that of others around you. If anything suspicious, either in the castle or grounds comes to your attention, please report it to a member of staff. I cannot impress upon you enough how much danger a careless action, or failure to take precautions, can bring. You will be notified if there are any further safety measures being taken that will

affect your day to day routine."

At last Dumbledore stepped back, surveying his audience with his brilliant blue eyes.

"Once more, I ask of you all to extend the hand of friendship to those who are different from yourselves, as well as those where friendship comes easily. Sometimes the best of friendships are forged in unexpected places. We cannot hope to defeat the dark forces gathering outside this castle while we are divided within. Your professors particularly have expressed wishes for more amicable relations between certain houses, and as such there will be changes made within your classes to help encourage inter-house relations." At this, Dumbledore's eyes sparkled as he looked from the Gryffindor table to the Slytherins.

"Now … It has been a long day, and I am sure we all now have food for thought, however I must also impress on you the value of a good night's sleep before your classes tomorrow morning. I think it is time for us all to turn in for the night. Pip pip!"

…ooo000ooo…

The first couple of days were fairly uneventful. Despite Dumbledore's rather serious ending to his speech, the trio had yet to spot anything out of the ordinary affecting the running of Hogwarts. Romilda Vane was heard reminiscing at length about a conversation she had had with a dark, mysterious auror in the grounds near Hagrid's hut, but so far she seemed to be the only one to be affected by 'increased security'.

Harry found himself wondering if Dumbledore's words had simply been the old man's way of letting off steam. Despite his hint that there would be changes in the way students from different houses were to be working together, Harry was yet to see any professors explicitly enforce it. The closest they came to it was in Charms, where Professor Flitwick had seated him beside Ernie MacMillan rather than Ron, but this was hardly groundbreaking; the two boys were reasonably friendly after being in the DA together, although Ernie was irritatingly Hermione-like when it came to playing hangman or passing notes in class.

The Gryffindors only had Defence, Potions and Herbology with the Slytherins, and Snape certainly didn't show any inclination to encourage friendships between the rival houses. Instead, he seated Harry beside Malfoy, probably to provoke a fight more than anything else. There hadn't yet been an opportunity for Harry to show his colours in his favorite subject, but when he did he was sure Snape would recognise the seating arrangements as an opportunity to take him down a peg or two.

In potions with Slughorn, who turned out to be a rather good-natured teacher anyway, they were allowed to sit where they pleased. Harry was yet to have a Herbology class but he couldn't see Sprout being particularly strict either; the seating in the greenhouses consisted of benches in any case, so they couldn't really be paired up too strictly.

Since the journey to Hogwarts, Harry's temper had died down considerably. He no longer had to fight the urge to shout at anyone who got in his way in the corridors, and things were almost back to normal with Ron. True, he hadn't forgotten Ron's lack of faith in him, but at least they didn't talk in that awful stiff manner of the first night back. He had to admit things didn't seem quite right between them though. It felt as though Ron was treating Harry like someone else, and Harry knew that he had changed. It wasn't Ron's fault that he was dealing with a different Harry now.

The new Harry enjoyed time alone more than being in the noisy Gryffindor common room. However it seemed as if whenever he did want to be alone he couldn't get away from his friends, unless he started doing his homework. This usually made Ron leave, and Hermione would study beside him, but at least she didn't talk to him too often.

Despite the changes, he felt reasonably at ease at Hogwarts, and he was already beginning to slip back into a routine, thoughts of Sirius only bothering him when he tried to get to sleep at night, and even then he was thankful at least that there were no accompanying nightmares. The Gryffindor quidditch tryouts loomed on Friday, and Harry was vaguely looking forward to playing with Katie Bell as captain.

However Harry's more relaxed frame of mind was destined to only last until Wednesday morning, when a school owl delivered him a note requesting his presence in Dumbledore's office the following Tuesday.

"I suppose this'll be the start of the private lessons he told me about last year." Harry said glumly, passing the note to Hermione "I wonder what he wants to show me."

"I bet it's going to be loads of really difficult and rare hexes and curses," Ron said enthusiastically as he read the note over Hermione's shoulder "the kind Death Eaters won't even have heard of!"

"First of all," Hermione sighed, stirring her porridge with a long suffering roll of the eyes, "Those kinds of things would be illegal. If anything, it'll be advanced Defence magic. And secondly, didn't you say he'd be showing you memories of Voldemort in his pensive Harry? He didn't say anything about spells."

"Rather you than me mate," Ron said as Harry shrugged moodily "Think about how many people he's tortured - any memories of him aren't likely to be pleasant."

"Don't be ridiculous Ron!" Hermione said scornfully, causing Ron to shrink back slightly at her unusually aggressive tone, "Even if they could possibly be a useful insight into the way he operates, it would do more damage than good. Harry could be traumatised for life!"

Harry snorted loudly as Ron gave Hermione an odd look and returned to his scrambled eggs. At Hermione questioning glance he elaborated "I doubt Dumbledore cares about that as long as I kill off Voldemort for him."

"Don't be silly!" Hermione said anxiously "Why on earth would you think that? Dumbledore cares about you Harry!"

"Lets just say," Harry said darkly "that I won't be so quick believe everything he tells me, this time around. I'm not going into anything with my eyes shut this year."

The rest of breakfast proceeded in an awkward atmosphere with Harry in silence, pretending he couldn't see his friends exchanging meaningful glances, and Ron shushing Hermione every time she made as if to confront Harry about his words. He had to settle for Hermione staring at him from across the table with patronising sympathy in her eyes.

…ooo000ooo…

However that week Hermione made some interesting advances in her social life that prevented her thoughts from dwelling on Harry or Ron too often.

It had begun in Arithmancy. Hermione had made her way to Professor Vector's classroom in good time, only to discover that with a class full of Ravenclaws, this wasn't early enough to be the first there, which she usually was.

As a result, there was only one seat left. Theodore Nott, the only non Ravenclaw in the class besides her, was scratching around in his bag for quills as Hermione approached and sat down. When the boy resurfaced and saw Hermione he looked surprised and said "Good morning" in a polite, and in Hermione's opinion, also stiff manner.

"Morning." Hermione replied shortly.

The class shuffled in restless silence for a few minutes before Professor Vector charmed a stack of papers to hand themselves out.

"Good morning class," the short witch greeted jovially as the last of the papers settled on desks "Today we will be having an informal test to get you all back up to speed with what you should know from your OWLs."

"Rotten luck!" Nott whispered beside Hermione, who only realised he was speaking to her after a few moments. She didn't reply.

"You may work with your partner," the professor continued "and you will have thirty minutes to complete the quiz. You may begin when you are ready."

Hermione started scanning the test paper immediately. Beside her, Nott shuffled uncomfortably in his seat and whistled through his teeth as he read the first question. Hermione gritted her teeth, irritated.

"Do you mind?" she whispered primly as Nott continued to shuffle "I can't concern-"

_WHOOSH_

Out of nowhere, a huge fountain of water hit Hermione in the side of the face, knocking her off her seat. She squealed as she hit the floor as all around her students tried to pull their desks away from the unwieldy jet of water.

"Enough!" Professor Vector advanced on their table, vanishing the water in an instant, leaving Hermione struggling, soaked to her feet. At their table, Nott, also soaked, looked suitably red faced.

"Who did this?" the professor looked from Hermione to Nott

"I certainly didn't!" Hermione said indignantly

"I'm very sorry professor," Nott confessed "I had a - erm - well, it's called a 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Fountain Pen in my pocket - I was fidgeting and I - I must have pressed it accidentally." his face grew even redder

"Give it here Nott" Professor Vector snapped, and the boy handed over a rather innocent looking muggle pen "Items from that shop are banned - detention!"

"Sorry" Nott whispered to Hermione as she performed a quick drying spell on herself. He quickly imitated her and they resumed their seats, although they had to perform the spell on their soaked test papers too.

Hermione didn't deign to answer his apology, but got started at last on the first question, only to have the Slytherin interrupt her again with a quiet cough and a pointed glance,.

"What is it now?" she snapped.

"I - well, aren't we supposed to be working on this test together?"

"If you think I'm going to help you after you soaked me-"

"I don't need your help!" Nott snapped, now visibly irritated too "and that was an accident."

"Oh - of _course_ it wasn't." she shot back, "I wish I'd sat next to a Ravenclaw!"

"Oho!" Nott hissed "Prejudiced, aren't we!"

Hermione felt her face grow warm as she realised she'd spoken out loud. Worst of all, he was right. She shouldn't even have been thinking something like that.

Hermione hadn't been called prejudiced before and she didn't enjoy the feeling of shame washing through her. It was true, that if it had been a Hufflepuff who'd caused the flood she would have accepted their apology more gracefully.

"Sorry," she muttered "I didn't mean to be"

"That's quite alright." Nott nodded "Now shall we get started with the first question?"

"I thought you said you didn't need help?" Hermione stared at the boy, confused.

"No…" he stared back at her, eyebrow raised "But Professor Vector said that we could work with our partners. Do you prefer to work alone?"

Hermione flushed. She hadn't wanted to work with Nott in the first place and after the fountain incident she hadn't even been willing to share answers. She was so used to 'work with your partner' equating with 'tell your partner the answers' (particularly with Ron) that she hadn't even considered that Nott might just want to work together just because they were allowed to.

"Okay." she said, feeling oddly flustered, and quickly moved her arm so that he could see her parchment

"Sorry … Nott." She felt she owed it to him to at least call him by his name. She met his eyes again with a tight smile, determined to show she could be friendly, but found herself momentarily sidetracked when she noticed his eyes were different colours. They were wide with long eyelashes, and the left one was green, the right brown. She felt the tiniest quiver of something inside her.

"Don't worry about it." the Slytherin returned with a small but encouraging smile "and call me Theo."

They worked in relative silence for a while, occasionally checking each other's answers. Hermione found herself thinking about her partner as she paused at a particularly tricky question.

Theodore Nott wasn't especially attractive. In fact he was more striking than anything; he had flyaway wavy hair that seemed to float on a non-existent breeze every time he moved his head. Along with his mismatched eyes, his pale skin and large forehead really made him stand out. He had a wide mouth and his ears stuck out at an alarming angle, giving him the look of some kind of mad scientist. Overall, the effect was more interesting than anything, but he certainly wasn't ugly, as odd as his features sounded. However Hermione was sure it was something about his character, rather than his looks which made her insides feel all warm and pleasant. Suddenly Theo interrupted her thoughts.

"Hermione," he said suddenly, making her jump after the long silence "I think you've tackled 14a in the wrong way."

Hermione looked down, blushing. She wished she hadn't got into this habit of analysing members of the opposite sex, it was extremely distracting. She glanced at the question he'd mentioned. It was the one she had paused on as she daydreamed.

"I don't think so," she muttered, frowning "I just had four more iterations of Galvanott's formula to go, but I seem to have…miscalculated something…" her quill paused over her answer of 13.443. Galvanott's formula only worked on whole numbers.

"You forgot the rule for exceptions," Theo said, pointing to his own paper "You need to use a rune-discrepancy diagram for this one first."

Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead "Ugh! Of course! I can't believe I didn't check the runes before I started!"

"Don't worry," Theo distracted her by smiling reassuringly "you do realise this is a sneaky NEWT-level question? Looks like I'm not the only one who reads my textbooks before term begins!"

Hermione felt a shy smile break out on her face and wondered why her insides felt as if they were filled with fluttering butterflies. She even found herself wondering if Theo might be interested in some extra study sessions in the library.

…ooo000ooo…

On Friday morning Hermione ate her porridge with vigour. Beside her, Ron and Harry were wittering on about the quidditch trials again - they'd been at it for most of the week, Harry's dark mood seemingly long forgotten. Hermione had been sidelined; every conversation she started was soon steered into quidditch talk. Up until yesterday, she would have felt lonely and a little sad that she was being so consistently ignored by he so-called friends, but today she was jubilant.

She had a library date with Theo next week - as friends of course … _but who knows what might happen!_ Hermione suppressed a sudden shudder when she realised her thoughts sounded far too similar to one of Parvati and Lavender's conversations for her liking.

Her dorm mates had, unfortunately, proved to have no hidden depths as Hermione had hoped. On the first night back at Hogwarts, she had asked the two girls about how their summer holidays had been, and had tried to be chatty and act interested as Lavender described at length and in great detail her shopping trip in muggle London the previous week. Parvati seemed deeply interested in this subject and had many questions about the designer dresses she had bought. Hermione found herself nodding and smiling but not understanding what was so interesting - or perhaps it was that she didn't wear dresses often and didn't know any of the designer names they were mentioning.

The only subject on which they seemed to share any common knowledge was Harry, and Hermione found it tiresome discussing her best friend as if he was a piece of meat. Whenever Parvati and Lavender started on this subject she found herself answering increasingly ridiculous questions on him ranging from his favourite colour to whether or not he had a six pack.

For the rest of the week, Hermione had continued to pay more attention to Lavender and Parvati, but the two never talked of anything that she could relate to. So used to the distance that Hermione kept from them, the girls did not seek to include her in their conversations other to ask her inane questions about whether she had ever fancied Harry, and had she even seen him naked? Shuddering at the very idea (what part of _friends_ didn't they understand?), Hermione put aside her concerns about her room mates as a certain Slytherin occupied her thoughts.

Once the pair had gotten over the water-fountain incident, Theo and Hermione had really hit it off. It turned out that they both had read the same advanced texts to get ahead in Transfiguration, and Theo was frustrated that there just wasn't enough time in class to exchange opinions. After expressing a mutual desire to debate over the warlock Aristotle's contribution to Arithmancy, the two had quickly arranged to meet up and do their homework together in a place where they could talk.

Hermione doubted that Harry and Ron would miss her in any case, but she couldn't help feeling relieved that they would be at the quidditch trials - she didn't think Ron would take her friendship with the Slytherin well.

_I don__'__t care what he thinks anyway._

Besides, they were only meeting up to study. It wasn't as if she had anything to be ashamed of.

"It's pretty decent of Katie, isn't it," Ron's voice was muffled through a mouthful of toast "to make everyone in the team try out as well - it means that technically she won't have to kick out the weaker players if there's someone better - less embarrassing."

Quidditch, Harry thought amusedly, was likely to be his saviour this year. Since Wednesday, his friends had been worrying about him, and why he had seemed so angry with Dumbledore. Nothing would stop Hermione's worried expression from forming whenever he came into sight of her, nor her questions about his wellbeing, but Ron would brighten up immediately, almost literally blocking Hermione from the conversation by excessive hand gestured and enthusiastic descriptions of the manoeuvres he could try when he attended the tryouts for Keeper.

Harry didn't know how often he had to snub Hermione until she would realise that yes, Harry had undergone some changes this summer, but no, he did _not want to talk about it._

How was he supposed to tell her what had happened? He wasn't even sure if his friends would believe him if he told them that Dumbledore was willing to let Harry go through pretty much anything as long as in the long run Voldemort was destroyed.

But the real truth, he acknowledged, was that he didn't want anyone to know how crushed, how betrayed he was at finding that out. He didn't know why, but he didn't want anyone to know he was hurt, and most of all, that he was living his own life now

"Harry?" Ron waved a hand in front of his face, and Harry jerked out of his reverie, smiling vaguely.

"What?"

"What do you think? About Katie making the whole team try out - were you even listening?" Ron looked hurt, and Harry felt guilty.

"Sorry Ron…hmm…imagine if one of the old team members doesn't get back in - that'll be awkward!"

"Don't be stupid." Ron downed some pumpkin juice then slammed the glass back on the table confidently, getting over his hurt quickly and latching back onto the quidditch talk. "You'll get in, no problem. And the rest of the team is quality, they'll have no trouble either. I don't know about me making keeper though…" he swallowed his next mouthful more slowly, looking worried

"Don't worry," Harry tried to reassure him "I'm sure you'll get in - you've been practicing all summer, after all - haven't you?" Harry searched his brain - he couldn't remember if Ron had said anything about his summer, but Ron carried on talking, so he relaxed.

"Yeah, but…I dunno…" Ron looked a little green "Fingers crossed."

"Any idea who you're up against?" Harry tried to distract him "So far I've only heard about McLaggen - "

"Ha - McLaggen's full of hot air." Ron immediately grasped onto the subject with confident disdain, as Harry had hoped "He'd talk about himself constantly if he didn't need to eat and sleep. I bet he can barely hold a broom. Although…" Ron's face became more worried as he contemplated McLaggen's flying ability, and Harry quickly changed the subject before he got any more nervous

"Well we still need two new chasers and both beaters. Have you heard of anyone who's trying out?"

"Nah." Ron's face cleared and he speared a sausage "Apart from Coote, and he's too small to be a beater. I can't see Katie letting him on. But then again Bennett - you know, the Cannons' beater - he's pretty small too. So you never know…"

…ooo000ooo…

Harry stumbled into the changing rooms with the rest of the team, and began fumbling for a towel and dry clothes; the tryouts had been gruelling once the less serious contestants had been sifted out, and there had been a fine mist of rain throughout, soaking them all to the bone. Ron had made the team as keeper, beating the rather arrogant Cormac McLaggen by a hair, thankfully. Less fortunately, Ginny had made the team as chaser. Harry hoped that the awkwardness between them wouldn't affect their playing. The other new chaser Demelza Robins was pretty good as far as Harry could tell, although he wasn't convinced that the beaters, Peakes and Coote were very good, but they had been the best out of those who had tried out in any case.

Katie had trialled all the prospective players by starting up a huge, many-player game of pick-up quidditch. The rules were informal; everyone playing the position they were trying out for (this resulted in three seekers, sixteen chasers, three keepers and six beaters). Katie bellowed out commands as they played, asking inadequate flyers to leave the pitch and swapping players from position to position until the last combination of players were announced to be the final team.

The weather had started off chilly but mild, but almost as soon as the brooms left the ground the weather had worsened, and the players now looked distinctly worse for wear too.

As Harry replayed the tryout in his mind, everyone began to pull on their clothes as quickly as they could and headed up to the great hall in groups to have dinner and to warm up; the changing rooms were draughty and cold.

Harry, Ron and Jimmy Peakes were the last to leave, but before they could make for the door, Harry's locker burst open without provocation, his quidditch robes falling onto the floor. Ron waited behind while Harry began to pile it all back in, and then suddenly a thin figure in a Slytherin robe stepped out from behind a corner.

"What are you doing in here, Malfoy?" Harry snapped, immediately darting for his wand.

"Spying on our tryouts, were you!" Ron accused, brandishing his wand at Malfoy, who held his hands in the air to show that they were empty, which immediately aroused Harry' suspicion and he started scanning the darker corners of the changing room for signs that Malfoy had backup.

"As if!" Malfoy snorted "Gryffindor's dreadful playing techniques might be contagious, and we want to _win _this year."

"What do you want then?" Harry snapped, as another unwelcome thought occurred to him. He really had been dreading the details of his words to Ginny getting to Ron, particularly through Malfoy; Ginny seemed far to embarrassed to bring it up, but he had noticed Malfoy watching him from a distance all week and he had been anticipating blackmail, however he couldn't bring himself to confess to Ron that he'd basically accused his sister of being a slut.

Malfoy looked back at him calmly, hands still raised. "I want a word, Potter."

"Go on then, speak." Harry said, hoping that nothing that would ruin his friendship with Ron would come out of the blond ferret's mouth or he'd be forced to hex him into next week.

"Alone." Malfoy eyed Ron

"Fuck off." Ron snapped "If you can't say it in front of both of us, you can forget it!"

"Don't make me mention anything we might regret, Potter" Malfoy turned to Harry, an eyebrow raised, and he just knew that Malfoy was thinking of Ginny "I refuse to discuss this matter with your side-kick," Harry saw Ron clench his teeth "now may I speak to you in private?"

Harry felt ill. His rash words would come back to haunt him every day for the rest of his life, if he didn't tell Ron. But he couldn't, not right now.

"Don't speak to Ron that way Malfoy" he said, making his decision quickly "I'll talk to you, but there's no need to be rude." he shot an apologetic glance at Ron, whose expression was dubious.

"Are you sure?" he said, his eyes moving between Malfoy and Harry

"Potter can take care of himself, servant." Malfoy said, smirking.

"Malfoy, I swear to God when this is over I'll hex you until you can't remember what your reflection used to look like!" Harry threatened, his fingers twitching longingly on his wand. "Speak to Ron decently, or I won't hear what you have to say, _whatever _you say to us."

Malfoy gave a smirk and nodded. "Fine. But I need to speak to _you _Potter."

Harry turned to Ron "I'll be fine." he said quietly, hoping he was right. Ron nodded doubtfully and turned to leave the changing rooms, and Harry had to suppress a sigh. He wondered if he and Ron would ever be able to get over this awful awkwardness between them; he felt different around Ron somehow, and he could cover it with Ron's enthusiasm for quidditch sometimes, but he knew his friend was getting suspicious at how little Harry joined in the conversation. And he knew that Hermione was coming to some sort of conclusion - if her shrewd, calculating expressions were anything to go by.

He couldn't help it though. Ron was hard to emphasise with these days. Harry felt like he had the world on his shoulders, and whereas he was wondering whether he'd survive to see his twenties, the most important worries of Ron's life were food and quidditch. Hermione would understand, but she would worry and prod at his decision to follow his own path. In Hermione's eyes, going against Dumbledore, or even just not following his words religiously, would be a stupid idea, and he knew she wouldn't let it lie. And he just couldn't take that pressure.

Harry waited until Ron's splashing footsteps had faded away into the rain before turning to Malfoy, who abruptly began to speak:

"Potter, I have a proposition for you."

Harry remained silent, baffled. Malfoy seated himself in an obnoxiously relaxed pose opposite him, and swung his feet onto the bench next to Harry. He was looking him over as if assessing his worth, and Harry shifted uncomfortably but waited to hear what he had to say.

"There are several risks for me, in making this proposition," he continued "and none for you, Potter, which is why I have to ensure that when I leave this room, no one except you and I will know what has been said in here."

Confused and extremely suspicious, Harry said carefully; "I'm not promising anything Malfoy."

The Slytherin boy snorted, then cast that assessing gaze over him again.

"I know you Gryffindors honour you promises, so I want to know what I can offer you, if you promise not to speak of this to anyone."

Curiosity more than aroused, but still deeply wary and more than a little irritated that Malfoy had ignored his last words, Harry thought to himself for a moment, but was unable to fathom what the Slytherin might be up to.

He thought over Malfoy's words carefully but quickly "What _could _you offer me, Malfoy?"

Malfoy looked at him "I honestly don't know what would appeal to you Potter. I have money, connections…but so do you."

_What is going on here? _Harry thought, furiously searching Malfoy's face for clues. Whatever this was, he was sure it was nothing good.

"I don't really know." he answered, unable to think of anything else to say. Part of Harry desperately wanted to demand that Malfoy make his quidditch team lose spectacularly to Gryffindor, or that he run naked through the great hall at Halloween, but he had a feeling that he should play this one by ear until he had found out what all this was about. "Maybe you could just owe me?" he added challengingly.

Malfoy didn't look happy. The boys stared at each other for a moment. Curiosity almost overcame Harry, but then Malfoy cast his eyes around, as if looking for inspiration. His eyes settled on Harry's Firebolt, and Harry had to smother the urge to quickly clutch it to his chest.

"I have a better idea," he said, reaching into a breast pocket, making Harry flinch. This whole business had him on his toes. "I don't want to owe you anything unless I know I can trust you, but I think you'll enjoy this." he continued, bringing out a folded piece of parchment

"I'm not signing anything!" Harry said hurriedly, thinking of Hermione's DA sign-up sheet, but Malfoy ignored him, and taking out a quill, wrote something on the parchment, then handed it to Harry.

_Treacle pudding._

"The password for my broom, my Nimbus 2001. The cupboard won't open unless you say it." Malfoy raised his wand and passed it over the parchment, making it glow.

"I'm charming it so that only you can use this password on my broom, and only you can change it. You can check it works later - I'll have to ask your permission to use the password every time I want to use my broom." Malfoy glanced up at Harry, his grey eyes cold.

"I'm sure you'll find that amusing." he said dryly

Harry stared down at the parchment.

"Wait." he said, then thought for a moment. He looked up at the Slytherin, who had no trace of a joke on his face. "So let me get this straight. You come in here with a secret so important that you had to send Ron away, and you think I won't tell anyone just because I want the juvenile pleasure of controlling your access to your broom."

When he didn't receive a reply, he looked up. Malfoy actually looked surprised and taken aback.

An odd emotion pooled in Harry's chest. "You actually thought I'm that immature-"

"So what if I did?" Malfoy shot back, standing up swiftly and crossing his arms "If you want people to treat you like an adult maybe you should act like one!" Despite his criticisms being aimed at Harry, it was Malfoy who had pink tinged cheeks at his bad judgement. "What am I supposed to do to get you to keep a secret? You don't want money-"

"You thought I would be so selfishly satisfied with controlling you that I would keep a secret that I don't even know about yet? That could put people in danger-"

"Merlin Potter it's not that kind of secret!" Malfoy snapped "I just wanted to run my idea by you and not have you tell your disciples what it was later in your golden gossip session!"

"Why do you care about my opinion?" Harry said, taken aback.

"Well you'll never bloody know now, will you?" Malfoy all but snarled, then turned on his heel and marched out the door.

For a moment Harry merely stared after him, nonplussed. Then he realised he still felt that odd emotion in his chest. He slowly put his broom back into his locker, and then made his way out of the changing room and up to the school, thinking.

Why was he so upset that Malfoy had underestimated him?

_Because everyone underestimates me. They treat me like a child._

But then no one else had made him feel quite so … disappointed.

_That's because I expected their reactions. _

But why on earth would he think _Draco Malfoy _of all people would know him better than his friends and Dumbledore?

_Not know me better…just not underestimate me. We're enemies, rivals - but how can we be rivals if he looks sees me as a child?_

Did Malfoy honestly think Harry was so immature? And if he did, why did he still engage Harry in petty fights like on the Hogwarts express, if Malfoy was so much more grown-up?

But of course that question almost answered itself. Malfoy had only been fighting Harry to impress his friends, he had all but said so himself.

"_let me stun you and I'll walk away…If you really don't care at all about getting taken seriously by your friends, this won't matter at all…"_

_So what? _Harry thought irritably _Something happened to Malfoy over the summer to make him think he's more mature than me…_

Then it hit Harry. Something _had _happened to Malfoy. He thought of Narcissa crying at the platform and it became clear to him. With Lucius in prison, Draco had, technically, became head of the Malfoy family.

Not such a big thing in muggle terms, only an expression in fact, but for a pureblood wizard Harry knew that all Draco's fathers' business dealings must have passed onto his son. Even if there were wizarding lawyers and accountants and so on guiding Draco, Harry could just picture the young Malfoy swaggering around the ministry pretending to be his father.

_Just like he always wanted._

And he called Harry immature?!

Then it occurred to him that Draco had had to live with his mother in the state she had been at platform 9¾ all summer, and that just maybe the pressure of trying to fill Lucius' place in the family had aged him.

Well then, maybe Malfoy had grown up a little, but the most important question was _what had Malfoy wanted with him?_

31


	5. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer - none of these characters belong to me, they all belong to JK Rowling. I also borrowed some quotes from the Harry Potter Lexicon. I'm not making money from this fic._

Hermione found herself grinning in a most undignified way on her walk back to the Gryffindor common room. Her study session with Theo had been … different. She felt positively girly. In a way, she could almost understand why Lavender and Parvati were so giggly all the time - was this how they felt? If it was, how did they ever get anything done? For once she felt as if she couldn't care less about classes or homework. Perhaps that was why Lavender and Parvati acted like such brainless bimbos sometimes? Hermione shivered and tried to force herself back into her normal, sensible frame of mind, but before long she began unconsciously beaming as she reminisced about her evening.

Her study session had actually been rather sparse in real studying; Hermione and Theo had began looking over an old first edition of 'Arithmancy in the 13th century' from the Nott family library, Hermione's carefully prepared notes cast aside on an empty chair. They had leafed through the pages chatting about their families, occasionally Theo would point out a particularly obscure theorem or rune diagram and Hermione would comment on it, but mostly they just spoken informally about whatever floated into their heads.

Hermione hadn't talked to anyone in this way since she had started Hogwarts. Ron and Harry were simply too boyish to be interested in the particulars of Hermione's life, but despite being male, Theo seemed genuinely interested, not only (to Hermione's surprise) in the way things worked in muggle society, but in Hermione's everyday life before she had come to Hogwarts. He groaned in sympathy as she told him about the tricks her classmates had played on her as a child because of her ugly braces and laughed along as she described her father's hazardous encounters in his dentist practice (they had both collapsed in giggles when she recalled Robbie Fenwick biting her fathers hand badly enough to require ten stitches).

In return, when Theo told her about his mother's wild annual Christmas parties she laughed at the antics of his uncle Ptolemy when he had one firewhisky too many ("I never figured out where those guinea pigs in the Grecian urn came from after all!") and she nodded in sympathy as he described the hardship of growing up with no permanent father figure, as his father had spent most of his time abroad - at least until recently. It remained unsaid that his father was a death eater, but as Nott senior didn't seem to have visited his wife and child in over five years, as well as the fact that Theo had told her outright that he didn't think much of his fathers' political stance, Hermione felt safe enough to spend time with him. Even so, she never spoke about Harry to him - not that she'd ever been particularly inclined to.

They had talked and talked, until finally they had to leave the library at ten to nine in order to be back in their common rooms before curfew.

"I'd walk you back to Gryffindor, if I knew where it was," Theo smiled down at her "but there isn't enough time anyway."

She'd smiled back and they'd said goodbye and went their separate ways, but not before agreeing to meet up at the same time the next night.

Hermione hugged her books in anticipation. _Who cares about Ron? Not me! _She thought cheerily as she entered the common room and plonked her books down next to where Harry was sitting before claiming an armchair_. _If Ron was never going to get his act together and notice her, then she'd just have to find someone who would.

_Speak of the devil__…_Ron had come thundering down the boy's stairs.

"Harry! You're back!"

"Malfoy wanted to talk to me after tryouts." Harry said, his now usual shifty expression on his face.

"Yeah _I know that_," he rolled his eyes "but what did he want?" he asked eagerly, making himself comfortable on the arm of Hermione's chair.

"Er - well - its was something stupid actually." Harry mumbled and Hermione frowned again. Something told her Harry wasn't telling the truth.

"What?" Ron persisted

Harry looked briefly cornered until he replied "He wanted to persuade me to swap brooms for the next match. To see if I could beat him without the advantage of my Firebolt."

"He WHAT?!" Ron exclaimed making half the common room turn around.

Hermione watched Harry's mumbled evasive answers for the next few minutes, wondering what her friend was hiding and why.

_He__'__d better just hope Ron doesn__'__t bring it up in front of Malfoy _she thought grimly.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry leant against the cool dungeon wall and closed his eyes. Around him, his classmates were chattering and laughing in line, waiting for Snape to let them into the classroom. He felt oddly peaceful; the Quidditch tryouts the previous night had gone incredibly well and after his awkward conversation with Ron, they'd played a few games of exploding snap with their dorm mates and Harry was gratified at how easily his friends let him back in, how forgiving they were despite his moody outbursts and sullen silences he'd been inflicting on them recently.

He'd completely pushed the Malfoy incident from his mind, he told himself. He didn't care what Malfoy had wanted to ask him, he'd even kept what he'd wanted secret so that Ron and Hermione wouldn't keep bringing it up.

_Or so that I could find out from Malfoy what it was he wanted later._

The question gnawed at his brain constantly.

_I don't care._ After all, Malfoy had had no right to expect Harry to listen to him, after everything he had done…

_But I want to know! _He thought frustrated. It was the curiosity, rather than the guilt that was eating at him.

And he did, oddly feel a little guilty for not hearing Malfoy out - what if it had been something important? Why else would he want Harry's advice, of all people?Harry forced his darker thoughts away, not keen to allow himself to feel guilty. _Who cares about Malfoy?_

He tried to focus his thoughts on the other things that had happened last night to get his mind off it.

After much laughter and messing around playing exploding snap (they'd made bets on the outcome of each snap game using Wizard Wheezes products, and Dean had still been sporting a lime green moustache until Professor McGonagall had removed it at breakfast), Harry had retired to bed and had such a good night's sleep that he awoke fifteen minutes early feeling refreshed and cheerful.

Harry wanted nothing more than for the school year to continue in this fashion, he thought happily. He'd felt closer to Dean, Seamus and Neville last night than he had for years and he wondered what he'd been missing out on while he was holed up with Ron and Hermione solving mysteries and getting into danger - although he also had a renewed fondness for Ron too after last night.

This morning, he'd combed his hair, and for the first time since September 1st, he rubbed some hair wax into it and replaced his glasses with contact lenses. Recently he'd been waking up late and in such an awful mood that he simply hadn't had the time to take care of his appearance but today … he just felt happy and wanted to feel good about himself, especially with double potions first thing in the day to look forward to.

He also had felt an overwhelming need to convince himself that he was not feeling curious.

_Gah!_

Busy swearing at himself, he didn't notice the line of students quieting down and begin to shuffle into the dungeon and when Hermione nudged him, he stumbled forward, not wanting to hold up the line.

"Daydreaming, Potter?" he heard Malfoy's sarcastic drawl "Or are you having _visions _again -"

"Pack it in, Malfoy." Hermione snapped before Ron could open his mouth. Harry glared at the Slytherin before entering the classroom, feeling the familiar, and somewhat comfortable burn of red hot hatred. So this was how it was going to be. Well, he'd be damned if he let anyone ruin his mood today, although that might be a tall order considering he was entering Snape's domain.

There were a few giggles as Harry walked in and headed for his usual table with Ron and Hermione and he tried not to smile. He knew he looked good, and it was nice to be talked about for something complimentary. The only person who hadn't complimented him today was Hermione and he had a distinct feeling that she thought he was showing off, judging by the disapproving expression on her face.

_Not that she can talk _he thought, casting an eye over Hermione's hair which had been bundled into an untidy bun. It was a small step, but Harry knew Hermione well enough to know that any attempt to tame her hair had some serious motivation behind it.

"Mr Potter." snapped Snape and Harry's eyes jerked to the front of the classroom. Automatically, the Slytherins began to snigger.

"Yes sir?" he answered politely, his heart sinking as he realised his day was not likely to stay pleasant.

"Do you care to explain the basics of the Wolfsbane potion?"

Harry stared back blankly.

"I - I don't know sir."

"Ten points from Gryffindor." Snape said silkily "I see you haven't even bothered to read through your textbooks in advance. Clearly you are trying to emulate your father in more ways than one." Harry clenched his fists as Snapes eyes travelled over Harry's deliberately mussed hair.

"I'm sorry _sir_. I thought we were here for Defence Against the Dark Arts, not Potions. " Harry replied angrily and Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Yes _Potter, _you are right! I suppose you expect to be awarded points for realising what class you are in!" Snape's nostrils were flaring as he glared down at Harry

"Unfortunately your over inflated ego must be pressing against your brain, causing you to believe that my instructions are not applicable to the _Chosen One_!" Snape snarled "For if you had been listening, you would know that we are reviewing Dark Creatures today, one of the above being werewolves! I would have thought that even you Potter, would know that the primary method of subduing werewolves during the full moon is the Wolfsbane potion! Apparently not only are you now primping yourself up like your arrogant fool of a father, but are displaying his poor brain power too."

Harry's mood changed swiftly from embarrassment to fury.

"Don't, Harry, it's not worth it!" Hermione muttered urgently

"Miss Granger!" Snape snapped, and she jumped "Ten points from Gryffindor, how dare you speak in my class while I am talking."

Hermione bowed her head and the other Gryffindors merely grimaced resignedly at the loss of twenty points so early on in the lesson. Harry tried to direct his glare at the floor, lest Snape deduct further points.

"As for you Potter…" he turned back to Harry with a sneer, his eyes narrowing as they passed over his face and hair "I don't know what vile substance you've put in your hair but I expect it to be gone by your next potions class. Twenty points from Gryffindor."

Snape turned towards the board and Harry dug his fingernails into the desk. How dare Snape do this! How could he talk to Harry in such a clearly unprofessional manner? Did Dumbledore really condone it? It couldn't be right to allow a teacher to randomly dock points from the house of any students he didn't like! He didn't remember Malfoy ever being told off for greasing his hair back when he was in second year!

"Professor?" the word escaped his lips before he had thought through his sudden urge fully.

Snape whirled around "What?" he snapped

"It's wax."

"Excuse me Mr Potter?" The professor's face was blank, his voice low and suspicious.

"In my hair."

"And why," Snape swooped down on him "would you think I would care about the absurd details of your hair care? Ten points from Gryffindor."

"You said you didn't know what was in my hair," Harry continued unrelentingly, ignoring the confused and shocked silence around him "And I thought you might be genuinely interested. I could show you the bottle if you-"

"Enough Potter!" Snape's voice was deadly. "Forty points from Gryffindor, for your irrelevant prattle."

"You're right." Harry sighed, relenting with a rueful smile. "Maybe it would be more appropriate to show you the shampoo."

The class gasped as one and as someone tried to muffle a shocked giggle, Harry felt the thrill of danger as the hairs on the back of his neck pricked up. He grabbed his wand under the desk just in case and braced himself.

Snape was staring at him, face frozen in fury. Then he spoke, lips barely moving.

"One thousand points from Gryffindor."

The shock was that great that not one person in the class moved.

"And detention, every night for the rest of the term."

…ooo000ooo…

Ron stared miserably at Hermione's retreating figure as she headed off once again to the library, having declined his offer to accompany her.

What was she doing in there? Even for Hermione, she was spending alarming amounts of time in the library. If only she would just take the time to spend time with him, she might realise that she might, well, have _feelings _for him. It wasn't as if there were many other guys out there who would put up with her book obsession…_not the way to put it to her, stupid git!_

Honestly, he was never going to get anywhere with Hermione if he didn't learn to think before he spoke. It was as if fate didn't want him to be with her; he never slipped up in conversation with anyone else so often, it was just when Hermione was around things just … came out wrong.

If he was dating her, she'd expect him to be even more careful with what he said to her, and then what? He'd be dumped in seconds. Better to wait until he knew how to prevent that. At least if she asked him out it wouldn't be so bad. He'd _know _she liked him, and then he'd know that there was a significantly less chance of getting dumped on the first slip up. He was just lucky that no one else had noticed what a beauty Hermione had grown into.

Unless she was spending so much time in the library because she was having a love affair with Madame Pince! He chuckled quietly to himself at the thought.

But honestly, Hermione really was changing. She'd even started to take care of her appearance. She wore her hair up now, or in a long plait down her back. And he even thought he'd seen her cast an eyelash thickening charm of all things on herself before she left five minutes ago. Which was strange seeing as Ron would have expected her to be more worried about what was wrong with Harry.

Harry.

Now there was an enigma.

Just what exactly was wrong with his friend? Granted, put in the context of Harry's recent moods the fact that he'd exploded at Snape wasn't entirely out of the blue but still … it was downright stupid. But Ron agreed that Harry was doing the right thing by not only avoiding Snape but Hermione too; he suspected she hadn't quite finished telling Harry off yet.

He just wished he knew what to say to Harry so that he would talk to them about what was bothering him.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry strode briskly down one of Hogwarts' many dark corridors, clutching his invisibility cloak around himself in the dark. He felt irritated and just wanted to be alone.

Since the beginning of term he had thought he had managed to get rid of the worst of his anger, and he had been unprepared for this. A part of him couldn't believe he had picked a fight with Snape, and the rest of him felt enormously gratified.

Snape had unsurprisingly ordered him to leave the classroom, and Harry accordingly had not been to Defence since. It had been three days and he'd received two owls the morning directly after the incident. One had been from Dumbledore, ordering him to his office, the other had been from Snape, detailing his detentions. He had ignored both and was yet to accept either invitation or return to class and had stopped going to meals so as to avoid Dumbledore's continuingly persistent owls. Instead, he used the time to go over Defence theory in a hidden corner of the library, and sneaked food out of the kitchens later. Avoiding Hermione's scolding was a top priority. He felt horrible every time he thought it, but _Merlin was that girl annoying._

Tonight however, he wanted to relax. He wanted the Gryffindor common room badly, just to sink into an armchair in front of the fire and fall asleep to the sound of Hermione's knitting needles clicking. Unfortunately, the reality was that any time spent with Ron and Hermione these days meant fending off concerned questions about his well-being and pretending not to notice the glances they exchanged when they thought he wasn't watching.

He understood that his friends were worried about him, but as time went on, he wanted to open up to them less and less.

At first Ron and Hermione had been only concerned with their friend. Now, however he saw resentment in Ron's eyes when he met them, and disapproval in Hermione's.

He was aware that he no longer deserved their understanding after the way he had been treating them, but he couldn't find the will to tell them everything, because he knew they wouldn't understand how he had been feeling since Sirius's death.

Hermione would never accept that Dumbledore had been manipulating Harry, and Ron … well Harry still smarted at how easily Ron believed that he would hurt Ginny.

He knew he was being unreasonable about Ron. But after catching those resentful expressions on his face again and again these past days, Harry found himself less and less able to let go and he now found Ron's company irritating.

Harry didn't really know where he was going. He had originally been heading in the direction of the Room of Requirement, hoping it would conjure up a comfortable armchair and a hotly crackling fire and that he could imagine, just for a few hours, that he was in the common room and no one was shooting him odd looks or trying to tell him he was wrong.

But even as he thought about that, he felt anger simmering slowly deep down low, and that made him restless. The adrenaline rush of being rude to Snape had exhilarated him, but the varying anger, embarrassment and depression he had felt afterwards was dreadful, even without Hermione's condemnations.

He didn't want to _forget _this dammit, forgetting meant regretting, and he was sick of sinking to that low. He wanted to stay angry, he wanted to be reckless. He _knew _he was right, Snape shouldn't speak to him like that, Ron and Hermione should stick by him, and Dumbledore shouldn't treat him like a child after he had gone through so many situations where most adults would have died!

He had already saved the wizarding world once, why couldn't that be enough? Why didn't people respect him rather than idolise or manipulate him, or if they couldn't at least do that, why couldn't he just be treated like an ordinary person?

Harry swiftly turned around and headed for the dungeons. They could be terrifying in the dark, and Hermione would disapprove of him wandering there simply because it was Snape territory, and he was therefore more likely to be caught.

He knew it was childish but that thought made him even more determined and reckless. He was at the second floor before he glumly realised that wandering dark slimy corridors would be no better than anywhere else, and once again he stopped, feeling frustrated.

He turned back to Gryffindor with a heavy heart.

…ooo000ooo…

"Harry!"

He cursed himself and kept walking, ignoring Hermione. He knew he'd been too lucky, arriving back in the common room last night to find that his friends had already gone to bed.

"Harry! You can't miss class again!" she was beside him now, jogging to keep up with his long strides.

"Go away Hermione." he snapped, and kept walking, but so did she.

He'd been heading to the library, where there was a hidden corner he favoured for the empty periods he now had where Potions used to be.

"Harry, you're going to be in serious trouble!" she pleaded, tugging on his arm until he stopped. He tried not to notice how pinched and worried her face was, he didn't want to feel bad. "Please, if you won't just come to class, speak to Dumbledore about this before it gets worse!"

"If I say I'll think about it, will you leave me alone?" he said harshly, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she lowered her voice "You'd never have said things like this before."

Inevitably, Harry now felt guilty. She was right, he was being unreasonably cruel.

"Look I'm sorry, okay?" he took her hand off his arm and held it for a moment, and she looked hopefully up at him. "But I'm not going back to class, I'm just not. And I need time to myself right now, okay? You and Ron are great, but at the moment I feel like you're crowding me and telling me what to do. I just need space."

He let her hand go, and walked away before she could protest.

…ooo000ooo…

Several hours later, because Seamus and Dean were playing a raucous game of Gobstones in the dormitory, and Hermione and Ron were in the common room, Harry had once again exiled himself to the corridors. It wasn't past curfew yet, so he kept his invisibility cloak in his pocket, and cautiously made his way upstairs, keeping a look out for someone different to talk to or something, anything to do. He couldn't help hoping he would bump into Luna; talking about Blibbering Humdingers would take his mind off everything.

He walked absentmindedly up more stairs, then wondered where he was going tonight if he was still wandering aimlessly by the curfew time. He wanted to go back to the common room and nap in the armchair nearest to the fire, but he didn't want to be around the other Gryffindors right now.

_What's wrong with me? _everything seemed different nowadays. He didn't enjoy things like he used to, and no matter how many how many friends surrounded him, he felt alone.

He was interrupted from his thinking by nearing footsteps, and Harry ducked into an alcove until Professor Vector had passed; he wasn't sure if it was past curfew yet. He checked his watch and found that he should have been in his dormitory ten minutes ago, and so he pulled his invisibility cloak over his head and continued up the stairs with more purpose.

When Harry finally reached the seventh floor corridor, he frowned at the wooden door which was right where the stretch of empty wall that was where the Room of Requirement should be. This could only mean that someone was inside. He frowned at the door for a moment, then uncertainly reached for the handle and opened it a crack.

Loud music burst into the corridor, and Harry jumped back, pulling the door shut hurriedly, glancing around for Filch.

Harry hadn't heard much wizarding music; he'd heard Celestina Warbeck at the Weasley's house and the Weird Sisters at the Yule Ball. The music that had nearly ruptured his eardrum sounded closer to the latter.

He continued to stand, thinking with his hand on the door handle. He couldn't open the door too many times or Filch would come running, or he might alert whoever was inside to his presence. So either he had to enter the room to find out what was going on in there, or he had to give up and find somewhere else to relax. Harry thought furiously, trying to bear in mind all the regretful situations that his curiosity had led him in the past…

Less than a minute later, Harry was surveying the scene before him in disbelief from behind a pillar inside the Room of Requirement.

The Room itself looked like nothing more than a very large classroom, divided into sections by columns. However the addition of a gramophone with an oversized trumpet, dim lighting and numerous armchairs and beanbags, not to mention a great number of people had Harry gob smacked.

It was a party.

Hastily planned and put together; a space intended solely for getting drunk in by the look of the sparsely furnished room, but a party nonetheless.

Harry remained still and merely observed his surroundings. Less than six feet away Draco Malfoy (wearing leather trousers no less!) had a girl that most certainly was not Pansy Parkinson pressed up against a wall. Shuddering and stepping away, he let his eyes pass onto a group of girls in very revealing outfits, clutching glasses of firewhisky and giggling loudly together. In fact, Harry realised as his eyes moved from group to group, everyone here seemed to have an alcoholic drink of some kind in their hands, and when a cheer went up from the opposite side of the room he saw that beside the gang of boys playing drinking games there, there was a long wooden table almost overflowing with colourful bottles.

After thinking for a moment, Harry sidled up to the table and grabbed a bottle at random then ducked back into the shadows, glancing around before examining it. The bottle had been one of the few that was still sealed and although unlabelled contained an electric violet coloured liquid which smelled like sherbet. He started to raise it to his lips before he was jolted violently from behind and the bottle smashed painfully into his teeth with a loud _crack_. The sharp pain however, was worth it when Harry laid eyes on its cause: Draco Malfoy, now inebriated to the point where he was unable to distinguish people from walls (apparently the reason he had thrown his date against Harry) was staggering around drunkenly as his date stalked off in disgust. Harry couldn't help snorting with laughter (albeit whilst clutching his mouth in pain) as Malfoy peered woozily around him in confusion.

"Cordelia?" he slurred, then his eyes rested on Harry who half spat out the gulp of his drink he had been taking at Malfoy's next words. " 'Ello darling-"

" 'Mon Draco, you'd regret that one in the morning." Harry was saved by a deep, calm voice and turned in relief only to freeze, face to face with a perfectly sober Blaise Zabini. The tall black boy nudged Malfoy in the direction of the group of girls with Firewhiskeys before turning to Harry, a wry smile on his face.

"Well Potter, looks like we'll have to find a new location for our parties if even you can find them now!"

"Er…" Harry stared back, searching for words. He didn't know Zabini very well at all and wasn't sure if his words warranted an equally sarcastic comeback. He was surrounded by Slytherins, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to provoke a fight - many Slytherins seemed to regard mildy insulting sarcasm the normal way to speak to people, after all.

"Cat got your tongue?" Zabini said mildy, raising an eyebrow.

"Er…I was just wandering around-" he began

"- after hours, looking for mysteries to solve, bad guys to lassoo." Zabini continued for him then stopped and regarded Harry as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said.

"Um." Harry felt as if he should just make some sort of cutting remark and turn and leave, but for some reason he wanted to laugh. Despite Zabini's words he hadn't sounded as if he was trying to cause trouble. However, reminding himself that he didn't know Zabini very well, he kept a straight face and continued.

"Well anyway … I just sort of stumbled in here." he shrugged. "I though I might as well join the party."

"Really? I though Harry Potter hated Slytherins?" Zabini's voice sounded a little cold now.

"Does he?" Harry said weakly, drinking another mouthful out of his bottle. The alcohol had a pleasantly fizzing texture in his mouth and tasted very sweet and sticky. If he was about to be ousted from the party, he decided, he should try and take this with him.

Meanwhile, to Harry's surprise, Zabini threw back his head and laughed at Harry's words.

"Does he indeed! Come here and I'll get you a man's drink." He snorted at Harry's purple bottle and then grabbed him by the elbow and proceeded to drag him in the direction of the table again and Harry, too confused in the change of direction the conversation had taken, allowed himself to be pulled along.

When presented with a slightly steaming concoction in a used glass, Harry pushed it away,

shaking his head.

"I'm not stupid enough to drink just _anything _you offer me." Harry said scornfully, wondering at the whining tone to his voice. He looked down at his purple drink suspiciously and assessed how he was feeling. He didn't _feel _drunk - not that he had any experience with it - but he didn't really feel _right _either. He raised the bottle to his mouth again unthinkingly, but before he could change his mind, Zabini did it for him and snatched the bottle out of his hand.

"Don't drink that, you idiot! It's a girls drink!"

Harry wondered why his cheeks were flushing so warmly now. Zabini eyed him suspiciously, taking a drink out of the cocktail he'd offered Harry.

"Somehow," Zabini drawled in a manner uncannily like Malfoy "I don't think you're here on some kind of ulterior motive."

"How would you know that?" Harry said stupidly, then wondered why he'd said it.

"The fact that you're already pissed, and on _that _stuff no less. The only people who drink that are women who want to get laid. It's almost traditional for it to be spiked!"

Harry felt his cheeks flush again "The bottle was sealed!" he said defensively

"Yeah there's a spell for that." Zabini smirked and held out the cocktail to Harry who hesitated before taking the tiniest sip.

_A little couldn__'__t hurt__…_

He felt no different after he'd tasted it, although he guiltily recognised the reason he'd done so.

_If Hermione could see me__…__somehow I doubt she__'__d be shouting at me just for succumbing to peer pressure. _

He glanced around him and spotted Malfoy gyrating against Pansy in the centre of the room.

_Nope! I__'__m sure Hermione would have a fit for other reasons._

"He's going through a rough time." Zabini commented.

"Wha-?"

"Draco. I saw you watching him." Harry met Zabini's eyes and they were calculating. "He normally can hold his drink. It's not his fault."

"I never-"

"You'd better not mention the way he's been acting outside of this room."

"I-" Harry stopped as Blaise stared down at him, eyes menacing.

"You've more than enough to blackmail him. You know it would damage his reputation if certain things got out."

Harry though of Draco coming on to him and Blaise nodded as if he knew what Harry was thinking.

"I won't say anything." Harry said uncomfortably. He hadn't thought about the incident since it had happened, but now that it had crossed his mind, he thought wistfully of the look on Malfoy's face were he to re-tell the story. "I think I should leave." Harry said, realising it was the most sensible thing he had said all night.

"I'll cut you a deal." Blaise spoke over him, shaking his head. "If you swear not to say anything about the state of _him_, you get to stay here all night, and I'll ensure that you have a good time. I guarantee you won't do anything you regret, that you won't drink spiked drinks and that I'll make sure no one takes advantage of you."

"I wouldn't let anyone take advantage of me anyway! I can take care-"

"Of yourself?" Blaise raised his eyebrow, an expression Harry was beginning to get familiar with. "May I remind you that this is a Slytherin party and that the only drink you've selected on your own so far is so heavily spiked that if you'd finished it you'd most likely have woken up with Draco over there in the morning?"

Harry blanched, but Zabini continued;

"Everyone needs to relax and let go, and to be perfectly honest with you this is pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity for any Gryffindor. Once in a blue moon, actually. Do you honestly think you'll get another chance to experience one of our famous Slytherin parties without having to worry about anything happening to you?"

Harry shrugged.

"Stay." Zabini commanded and Harry acquiesced. For now. It wasn't like he had to stay too long after all. He just didn't feel like heading back to the common room just yet. He shrugged and tentatively accepted a mouthful of the steaming mixture Zabini had handed him and winced. It tasted awful. Bitter, and it left his tongue burning as if he'd just swallowed chilli sauce.

"This tastes horrible." Harry said bluntly

"It's an acquired taste." Zabini shrugged "Here, have the rest." He pushed the glass into Harry's hands, then turned to speak to Adrian Pucey, who was refilling his glass behind him.

For several long moments Harry simply watched their interaction, enjoying a faint, pleasant buzzing sensation in his extremities that his disgusting drink seemed to have elicited. He waited for Zabini to introduce him, or at least explain his presence, but when no introduction seemed forthcoming he moved slightly forward and coughed.

"- and then Warrington said we'd have to reschedule our practise if the rash didn't clear up -" Pucey's eyes flitted over Harry briefly, then cut off midway through his sentence as he did a double take.

There was a moment of silence during which Harry observed some kind of subtle Slytherin power display. Pucey frowned at Harry, eyes lingering on his scar, then looked enquiringly at Zabini. Blaise Zabini drew himself up, squaring his shoulders threateningly and Pucey dropped his eyes and coughed.

"…I mean, cancel a practise for a _rash?__"_ Pucey said, assuming a neutral expression and attempting to continue from where the conversation has dropped off.

"It _is _a little ridiculous." Zabini agreed, shrugging "No matter how inconveniently placed the rash was." A smile lit up his face and the two Slytherins laughed. "Thank Vaisey for that one from me." Pucey didn't so much as look at Harry for the entire length of the conversation.

The rest of the evening proceeded similarly; Harry following Zabini through the crowd of semi-familiar faces, listening to his conversations and, when he was noticed, watching Zabini tense his muscles or reach for his wand (depending on the adversary) and watching the opponent duck their head submissively and look away. He noticed that Zabini didn't approach any other sixth year Slytherins, for which he was grateful. The last thing he needed was Pansy Parkinson crowing about his actions tonight all over school tomorrow. With luck, she and Malfoy wouldn't remember he was here.

He continued to sip at his drink as Zabini mingled, until his entire body seemed to be buzzing with a sort of sleepy warmth, combined with a zing of almost electric static. He felt like he was floating along in a haze. Every now and again, a new drink would be pushed into his hands and he found himself accepting it without resitance. Twice he looked around in panic after realising that he'd forgotten to follow his host, but both times Zabini returned for him looking irritatedly amused, until he took to tugging Harry along by his elbow. Eventually, he found himself pushed into a comfortable bean bag, and acknowledged blearily that Zabini had settled into a nearby armchair with a girl on his lap.

He watched the rest of the party goers. He watched Draco Malfoy flit from one girl to another. Or at least Harry thought he did, all he could see was a blond blurry figure who started off with a sort of drunken swagger, and eventually left the room accompanied by Crabbe, Goyle and two girls and staggering so badly that he ended up being half carried by Millicent Bulstrode.

After Malfoy left, Harry became transfixed by another blonde. A girl he vaguely remembered as Daphne Greengrass, a sixth year, but usually so quiet he'd never really noticed her before. She was dancing, twisting and swaying on the dance floor, her hair swishing through the air, accompanied sometimes by a boy, and at other times a younger girl who looked so similar that Harry decided she must be her sister. In Harry's inebriated state he could barely take his eyes off the rhythmic movement. He drank some more of his drink and settled down to watch her until she became a blurry blob and eventually faded away in the direction of the door.

He drank some more.

Harry stared in fascination at the writhing blobs on the armchair. Was that Pansy Parkinson that Blaise was with? He didn't realise he was staring until Zabini lobbed a paper cup at his head.

He turned back to watch the other partygoers, and felt his eyes drift closed as beat of the music swirled pleasantly around him.

…ooo000ooo…

"Chickpea." Harry muttered and the fat lady's portrait swung forward to admit him. He stepped through into the common room as quietly as he could, but he could already hear Ron and Hermione among the voices of Gryffindors who'd gotten up for breakfast early.

He craned his neck to see if they were close, hoping to avoid a confrontation if possible and noted that Hermione was standing with Ron and Ginny at a nearby table. Unfortunately as he began to move in the direction of the dormitories, he kicked the leg of a chair rather hard by accident and it skittered across the floor until it hit a rug and then fell over with a clatter.

"Harry!" Hermione whirled around at the sound and advanced on him immediately, her hair flapping wildly behind her. "Where have you _been_? Ron told me your bed hasn't been slept in-" Ron stared guiltily at the floor as he too stepped forward "and we were _worried _about you!"

"Sorry." Harry mumbled, and tried to shuffle past. Thanks to the hangover potion that had been passed around (as haggard looking Slytherins woke up from various positions on the floor and dragged themselves back to the dungeons), he didn't have to deal with a splitting headache, but he didn't exactly feel fresh as a daisy either, and in the back of his mind a small voice was panicking about exactly how much of a fool he had made of himself last night. In front of _Malfoy _of all people. Not that _he _was likely to remember. He should be more worried about Blaise, because deal or no deal, that boy had seen him drunk as a lord, and who knows what he had gotten up to that he didn't remember.

"No Harry! I'm serious! _Where have you been_-?" Hermione made as if to block his way, then froze, eyes narrowing.

"Have you been drinking?" She sniffed the air around his face suspiciously.

"What? No!" he protested feebly, and saw Ron frown.

"Harry you don't drink," his friend said uncertainly

"You stink of alcohol!" Hermione burst out, looking furious.

"Harry mate…if you're depressed, this isn't the way to deal with it." Ron said uncomfortably, stepping forward and Hermione's features softened. Apparently this had not occurred to her. Harry, unwilling to pursue the path that the conversation had taken decided to tell the truth.

"I wasn't drinking because of that! I was at a party!" he snapped, hoping they would back off. Instead Hermione looked shocked and worried, and Ron looked hurt. Harry stifled the twinge of guilt in his stomach.

"Harry…" Hermione began, then stopped, looking very upset. "Harry - I wish you would be our friend again."

"I am your friend." Harry said slowly, hoping they weren't going to demand an apology for his actions, or worse a long heart-to-heart about his feelings. He just wanted a nap before breakfast…

"It's just…" Hermione hesitated "We feel like we don't know you anymore!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this!" she waved a hand at him and he looked down at his new clothes which he had been wearing under his robes all of yesterday. He had pulled his robes off though, at some point in the night and for a moment he panicked about where he'd left them, then remembered he had a spare pair. His jeans looked fine but his t-shirt was very creased and crumpled and he self consciously tried to pull it straight as he spoke. He didn't look _that _bad, in fact he was sure he had a fairly decent 'just rolled out of bed' look - and in a good way.

"I'm going to get changed anyway, what does it matter if my clothes are wrinkled?"

"I meant the clothes themselves Harry, not how they look!" Hermione said exasperatedly "When did you get them?"

"Er - yeah, I bought myself some new clothes earlier this summer. I thought you'd noticed before. Why is that…a problem?" he said the last word uncertainly. He had no idea where Hermione was going with this.

"We _did _notice and it's not a problem, Harry." Hermione sighed "But really - it's not you. You never used to wear things like this."

"What, new clothes?" Harry said, feeling miffed "Did you expect me to keep wearing Dudley's old crap for the rest of my life? It's not like I can't afford to wear new things for once!"

"But do you have to flaunt it so much?" Ron cut in, his voice carefully neutral.

Harry stared at him.

"How much did those cost you? Dean says they would have cost a bomb from muggle shops, and I just don't understand why you would want to show off your … wealth. You never used to before." Ron looked away as the tone of his voice turned into something more unpleasant.

Harry felt heat rising in his face. He couldn't believe that Ron, who had everything Harry wanted, a big family who loved him, no impending fatal destiny, and most of all a life with the opportunity to last more than the next couple of years, was still holding this grudge over his wealth.

"I understand about the contact lenses," Hermione continued "I mean, it must make it easier to play quidditch, but along with that _hair__…"_her nose wrinkled slightly in distaste "It just looks like you're trying to look good. As if you're trying to fit the hero image."

"And what's wrong with wanting to look good?" Harry snapped, again feeling self conscious, this time because of the state his hair must be in, "And isn't that what people want? For me to look like a hero? So they can believe that I can _save the world _more easily? So they can overlook the fact that I'm just some scruffy kid?!"

"Oh Harry!" Hermione said sympathetically, not getting it at all "You don't have to prove anything to anyone! And dressing up like this won't make a difference to your real friends - Ron and I will always believe in you, and we _know _you can do it!"

"And what if I want to look good, just for me?" Harry said angrily "What if I _want _girls to like the way I look, what if I'm doing this so that _I _can feel good about myself!"

There was a pause, and Ron an Hermione exchanged glances.

"The Harry I knew didn't care about looks." Hermione said finally "What changed?"

"Oh I don't know!" Harry snapped "Maybe I grew a backbone and realised that I could control my own life, that I don't have to do anything I don't want that there was no reason why I should ever have had to sleep in a cupboard! Maybe I've realised that I have a bank vault the size of bloody Hogwarts and I'm able to actually do what I want with my money!"

"You slept in a cupboard-?" Hermione began uncertainly, but was cut off by Ron.

"So what?" Ron snapped "Now you've decided to turn into bloody Malfoy and start boasting about being rich, what's next?"

Harry turned to look at his friend and saw open jealousy and anger in his eyes. He felt a rush of fury.

"What's next, Ron?" He hissed "Well, what happens next is my friends turn against me, isn't that right?"

"Harry-"

"Shut up, Hermione." he said and she clapped a hand to her mouth.

"How dare-!" Ron shouted

"SHUT UP!" Harry screamed and suddenly the entire common room fell into silence and Harry felt all eyes on him.

"That's right, Hermione." he said quietly, his voice forcedly calm. "I'm taking pride in my appearance just because I can. I don't care about what you, or Ron think, because I'm doing this for ME. For the first time in my life, I'm doing something for me. And If I want to spend hundred of galleons doing it," he turned to Ron "then I bloody well will."

"You selfish, arrogant prick!" Ron yelled

"Why?" Harry asked simply, ignoring his stomach churning and not just because he was angry.

"You - you-" Ron spluttered "-think it's okay to waste all that money and you treat us like we don't matter anymore!"

"Yes Ron." Harry spoke calmly "I want to live my life while I still can, and if you're holding me back because you're jealous of the only thing my parents left me - money, then clearly you don't care about me at all. If I could swap lives I would, and then you could watch everyone you care about drop dead to protect you, and while you're doing that, I'd enjoy having brothers and a sister and parents and find time to whine about not having fame or money."

The silence in the common room was oppressive, and Harry didn't drop Ron's eyes. He plunged his hand into his pocket and Ron flinched. Harry wondered if he'd thought he was going to pull out his wand and hex him. Instead he held a fist full of galleons.

"Seeing as how money is more important to you than having a family, or sticking by your friends, I think this should be enough compensation for losing me."

He flung the galleons to the floor at Ron's feet and then stormed up the stairs to the dormitory.

21


	6. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I am not a professional writer, I am not making money from this, and worst of all, I don't own Harry Potter._

When Harry finally ventured down to the Great Hall for breakfast, it was packed. Ron and Hermione were sitting with Neville at the end of the Gryffindor table closest to the door and when he entered, Ron gave him such a scathing glare that despite his continual assertion to himself that he didn't care what his friends though of him, he stumbled to a halt.

"Morning Potter!" a familiar deep voice rung out behind him and he turned to find Blaise Zabini behind him. He and the rather odd looking Theodore Nott were flanking a sickly looking Malfoy who looked confused at the greeting Harry had received, and miserable in general.

"Morning." Harry replied, turning back to the Gryffindor table in time to see Seamus and Dean being ushered into the only free seats on the nearest section of the table. It looked like he'd have to sit with the third years…

"Great party, wasn't it?" Blaise boomed, then lowered his voice "The state of our resident drama queen aside."

Harry snorted at the mortified look on Malfoy's face.

"You were _there?!_" he yelped, but Harry wasn't paying attention. At Blaise's loud comment and his own laughter, he'd heard gasps of shock behind him. At the table, his fellow classmates were all staring at him with similar expressions of shock (Hermione's was particularly horrified) and dawning betrayal.

"What, you didn't tell your friends?" Blaise sneered "Typical Gryffindor, ashamed to be seen with the likes of us!"

"It's not that -" Harry started, but Zabini pushed past him to speak to the whole of the Gryffindor table.

"Looks like your Golden Boy secretly wants to be a Slytherin!" he jeered, then cast a derisive look at Harry before walking off, his nose in the air.

"Hey Potter," Malfoy said suddenly, and Harry turned around "Why don't you come join our table?"

Harry's jaw dropped and Zabini and Nott stared at Malfoy as if he was mad "You want me to sit at the Slytherin table?!"

Malfoy nodded stiffly. "Looks like there's trouble in paradise - oh for fuck's sake, how touchy can you get!" he exploded at the anger forming Harry's face.

"I think what Draco is trying to say," Nott interrupted to Harry's surprise "is that your pals aren't going to let you sit at Gryffindor without some kind of confrontation."

"Somehow, I don't think I'd be welcome at Slytherin either!" Harry snapped as he caught sight of Zabini glaring at him from across the hall. The tall black boy was muttering into Adrian Pucey's ear.

"They'll do what I say," Malfoy said "And besides, can you really deal with them-" he gestured at the angry Gryffindor "-right now?"

Harry hesitated. He would be treated hostilely at Slytherin, but that was better than being treated that way at his own table.

"Oh come on," Malfoy said "its obvious you don't want to talk to that lot. Coming?"

Harry took a last look at the accusatory faces on his own table, then started walking.

"Potter will be sitting with us today." Malfoy said irritably to his minions as Harry approached. Zabini stood up and left.

"Don't mind him, he's always touchy about things." Malfoy muttered, sitting down.

Pansy eyed him in a way which made Harry feel unexplainably uncomfortable, but motioned to Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass to shift over one spot so that Harry could sit down opposite Malfoy.

It took a minute or so before the Slytherins returned to their regular conversations although they kept shooting Harry calculating glances. Harry studiously filled his plate with buttered toast and bacon while this went on around him and it wasn't until he was almost finished eating when he felt comfortable enough to even look up from his plate and examine students around him.

Malfoy and the presiding queen, Pansy took centre place at the table with Zabini's empty space and Nott at either side of Harry opposite the couple. Further down the table were the other Slytherin sixth years and oddly enough one seventh year, Adrian Pucey sat amidst them. Crabbe and Goyle were surprisingly far down the table, and Harry wondered why this was. Harry also thought it odd that the seventh years seemed lower down the ranks than the sixth years (apart from Pucey) but he supposed that they must be above such things. Either that, or being friends of Lucius Malfoy's son entitled the sixth years to their position.

"Are you lot going to tell me what this is about Malfoy?" Harry asked finally

Malfoy looked up from his coffee mug and jerked his head toward the entrance hall.

"Come and find out." he said and got to his feet. Harry hesitated before following him, uncomfortably aware of the entire hall's eyes on his back.

Once in the entrance hall, Harry practically had to jog to keep up with Malfoy.

"Is this the part-" he called ahead irritably "where you ask me my opinion on your new dress robes, and then beg me not to tell anyone in exchange for being allowed to keep the key to your hair products cabinet?"

Malfoy snorted, but didn't speak until they were both outside.

"Do you ever do anything without the whole school gossiping about you?" Malfoy said mockingly.

"What?" Harry replied angrily

"Don't tell me you didn't see everyone in the hall gawking at you!"

"I've gotten used to it." Harry said stiffly

"Really?" Malfoy replied "Well, I suppose that as long as you don't do anything they disapprove of you manage alright. The golden boy is public property after all."

"What the fuck are you getting at Malfoy?" Harry spat

"Nothing." the Slytherin shrugged "Just making conversation." he smirked "Although you should watch your language if you don't want to get in any more trouble with Dumbledore."

"What do you mean 'more trouble'?" Harry growled

"Well if the look on his face was anything to go by, he doesn't like you sitting with the Slytherins or going off with me one jot. Start swearing and he'll be having strong words with you, I suspect!" Malfoy sniggered.

"It's not up to him who I sit with-"

"What about your friends? They looked like they were on old Dumby's side completely-"

"Shut up Malfoy! They care about me, that's all!"

"Right. Which is why they were so pissed at you for having some fun at a friend's party."

"Friend!" Harry snorted "They were worried because you _aren__'__t _my friend, I hate you, and I shouldn't be going to parties with you!"

"Then why did you?"

"I got there by accident, I didn't know there was a party in that room."

"Then you should have left." Malfoy said, and Harry glared at him. "But you didn't. You enjoyed yourself in a thoroughly non-Gryffindor friendly way. Which means that you're getting tired of doing what your friends and Dumbledore think is 'appropriate'."

"Stop trying to analyse me Malfoy! I don't have to listen to this crap!" Harry turned to go, but Malfoy grabbed his shoulder,

"Get off-!"

"I want to speak to you!"

"Well I'm not promising anything until I know what it is you have to say!"

There was a moment of silence where Malfoy simply stared at him, his eyes dead, and Harry felt concerned. He knew Malfoy had a hangover, but he also had dark rings under his eyes that looked as if they had been there much longer. He began to wonder what the best way to go about asking Malfoy if he was alright was, when Draco interrupted his thoughts.

"Fine."

"What?"

"Fine. You can promise after you've heard."

"Okaay." Harry said slowly "So what is it then?"

"Tomorrow." Malfoy looked tired and turned away. "I'll tell you tomorrow."

…ooo000ooo…

Hermione threw down her quill, unable to concentrate anymore.

"Ron, we have to talk to him!"

"Talk to him then. It's no concern of mine." Ron glared at his transfiguration homework.

He'd thought that he and Hermione were in agreement for once. That Harry had Gone Too Far. He could never forgive Harry for the incident with the Galleons. He'd felt humiliated in front of all the Gryffindors. Was it his fault he was poor? Harry had been an utter prick, he never thought he'd see him do something like that. And he'd been too proud to even admit that he'd been too drunk to think sensibly and had ended up at a Slytherin party, and then tried to deny it _and _make them believe he'd had a good time! And then just to spite his friends, he'd went and tried to act all chummy with the Slytherins.

Harry had not only Gone Too Far, but he'd made a fool of himself and everyone knew it. Harry must know it too.

_And good riddance! _

"How can you say its no concern of yours!" Hermione snapped "Ron, I felt just as offended as you, but Harry took everything we said the wrong way! Yes maybe he should have listened properly instead of jumping to conclusions, but we know he's not been right recently. And it didn't help you had to bring up his money."

"Bring up his-" Ron exploded "Hermione! He's flaunting his money without a care as to how I feel-!" he struggled to lower his voice. Mere hours ago, Hermione had been in tears because of Harry and now she wanted to be friends again? He didn't understand, _friends_ didn't treat each other the way Harry had treated them!

"It's his money, Ron and he has a right to buy what he wants with it, the same as you would if it was yours. He didn't mean to talk about his wealth like that, he was upset!" Hermione's voice was calm but Ron could tell she hadn't completely recovered from the argument.

"And we have to put up with his crap?"

Hermione tried not to burst into tears or scream at Ron's tone. She hated being at odds with Harry - it had never happened before, and the only thing stopping their friendship from mending was Ron. What he didn't seem to understand was that this time Harry might not want them back and if she didn't get Ron back on side fast enough…

"Yes Ron, we do. That's what friends are for. Harry is depressed enough to drink, and to act completely … awful right now. He's not our Harry at all. _That__'__s _how bad this is. He doesn't realise he's being awful - he probably thinks _we__'__re _being awful to him, and he might not forgive us."

"How have we been awful?" Ron demanded "We haven't! He's just - he's gone too far this time-" He was fuming. He just felt so angry, too angry to think straight. Which meant he probably _wasn__'__t _thinking straight, but he didn't care.

"This time? Ron, he's never been like this before!"

"He's been like this since the beginning of term-!"

"Yes, it's only recent! He hasn't got over Sirius's -"

"Don't tell me that makes this alright Hermione, because it doesn't! He's hanging around with Slytherins now for Merlin's sake!"

"And that's how desperate he is to find someone to understand!" Hermione's voice was pleading "He can tell that we don't really know what he's going through, that we don't understand!"

"Well we don't! I'm sorry, I just don't! What more can we do?" Ron hated the way a part of him was telling him that he would regret not patching things up with Harry. But he just felt so _angry_!

"We can be there for him Ron. Some friends we are if we're not there for him when he's going through a horrible time. If we don't talk to him soon, he'll be lost to us forever."

Ron stared at Hermione, battling with his feelings. How many times had he not been there for Harry, or misjudged his friend? Harry had now done it to Ron for the first time, was he going to let their friendship go because of it?

"Come on Ron." he looked up and met her pretty brown eyes and helplessly nodded.

"Alright."

…ooo000ooo…

_Harry dreamed of red. There was red, in glistening pools on the floor._

_He could hear laughter, dimly, but he didn't want to look away from the red. It was a deep colour, and it was beautiful in a violent way._

_Violent?_

Harry shifted in his sleep, a frown appearing on his face.

_The laughter came again, and this time Harry looked up. _

"_What is this?" he said, his voice high and cruel._

_The scene ahead came into focus as Harry moved closer. His eyes were drawn to the flash of white blond hair as a figure stumbled against another figure._

_Draco Malfoy was being pulled around by the scruff of his neck by Bellatrix Lestrange._

"_My lord!" she simpered "Draco has failed his task. We were having a little fun with him before I punish him properly." she cackled, then shoved roughly at Draco's shoulder._

_Draco fell onto his knee, looking anywhere but at Harry._

"_My lord I have not failed, I have captured his interest - I'm speaking to Potter tomorrow-"_

"_Draco says he'll tell the Potter boy he has no interest in following you, my lord - which of course is not the truth-"_

"_Silence Bella." Harry motioned at her, and she scuttled backwards into the shadows. "Tell me, Draco." _

"_I'm going to tell him lies to make him like me. Potter likes to rescue people, he'll want to rescue me." The white face was determined, from what Harry could see of it. The ridiculous boy was staring at the ground as he spoke._

"_Tell me what lies, Draco? Come over here."_

_Harry smiled in satisfaction when he saw the boy was shaking in fear as he crawled forward, into one of the red pools. What a coward. Nothing like Lucius. The boy looked repulsed that he was crawling in blood._

"_I was -was going to tell him, my lord, that I'm frightened of becoming your servant, and that it is happening soon. It'll make him think that 'saving me' is more urgent. I'll have him wrapped around my finger in time-"_

"_But you aren't frightened, are you Draco?" Harry sunk onto his haunches beside Draco, and lifted a spidery white hand to his chin._

"_No my lord." Draco stared determinedly at the ground, but Harry pulled his face up, and yet Draco stared to the side._

_Harry dug his nails into Draco's face where he gripped him. The boy's face was blank, and remained so even when Harry's thumb nail burst open his lower lip._

_Harry liked the way the blood looked as it flowed over white skin. He let go._

"_Lies, Draco, such pretty lies. I hope you succeed. But all is not lost if you do not."_

_The Malfoy boy, inferior replication of the much worthier Lucius, looked surprised. Stupid boy._

"_I have promised Macnair a prize for his recent endeavours, dear Draco - you know what Macnair likes, don't you?"_

_Harry watched with satisfaction as the boy grew still very suddenly._

"_Yes, I think you do. You will make an excellent prize. Don't you agree?"_

_For a moment Malfoy didn't move. Then -"Yes my lord."_

"_Good. I expected more progress than this." Harry said silkily, assuming a disappointed expression. He dragged his had through the blood on the floor before resting it on Dracos head. "Bella, please continue."_

…ooo000ooo…

Harry scanned the Slytherin table several times.

There was no doubt about it.

Malfoy wasn't there.

For a moment Harry couldn't move. Malfoy was dead, he knew it.

He glanced sideways at Ron, who sat several seats down from him. Ron had woken him when he had started screaming last night. Ron always did. But because he and Ron weren't speaking, he hadn't asked what Harry had seen, and truthfully Harry didn't want to tell him.

He stared at his breakfast and felt sick. He had the images of his vision playing behind his eyes, and whenever he saw something red, he wanted to flinch. He couldn't stop thinking of the bloody handprint on the blond hair…

He got up and left the Gryffindor table, to search for Malfoy, just in case. He saw Draco in his mind, writhing and screaming and rolling in the blood, and he had to run to the toilet and be sick…

Harry was running towards Professor Snape's office - he had to tell someone, someone who could help Malfoy, when Hedwig swooped after him to land on his shoulder.

Harry took the letter tied to her leg with shaking hands and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the handwriting.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry sat alone at a table in a hidden corner of the library. It felt odd, being here without Hermione.

He looked at his watch. He was still early.

Harry sighed.

He was beginning to miss having friends. He wished he hadn't been so-

"Harry."

Harry jumped rather stupidly and twisted around in his seat to see Albus Dumbledore peering over a short bookshelf at him.

"Sir-" he stammered, then stopped. He had purposefully been ignoring owls from the headmaster. There was really nothing he could say to make this easier. Nevertheless, he tried.

"About your owls sir -"

"Yes Harry, I must admit I'm rather disappointed that you don't seem to want to have your extra classes with me as we discussed last year." The old man rounded the bookshelf and took a seat opposite Harry, his eyes twinkling.

"Extra … classes?" Harry said faintly. Dumbledore's first owl hadn't been about Snape, it had been asking him to go to the headmasters office because he hadn't turned up to his appointment. He had been ignoring the owls for nothing. Snape hadn't even gone to Dumbledore…

"That's right." The professor said jovially "I believe I owled you with a proposed appointment time a while ago. I take it you still want to attend then?"

"Um - yes - sir, I'm sorry, I completely forgot-" Harry could feel his face turning red with embarrassment. Then he remembered how angry he had been with the headmaster recently, and opened his mouth. However the headmaster interrupted before he could even think of what to say.

"Jolly good then!" The professor got to his feet "Shall we say this Wednesday instead then?"

"Yes, that's fine - Sir, -?" Harry began, but Dumbledore held up a hand

"Not at all, not at all. Memory slips happen to the best of us." Harry stared

"Oh Harry-" Dumbledore turned

"Sir?"

"I also meant to remind you - I have limited your detentions with Professor Snape to no more than an hour a day and only during this month, but if you don't begin attending them and return to your defence classes I will be forced to agree that they need to be extended." his eyes twinkled maddeningly and it was all Harry could do to avert his gaze downwards, nod, and try not to glare at the headmaster. How dare he act like everything was back to normal with them.

_Maybe_, Harry thought, _it would be better if I thought through what I want to say to him. He__'__ll take me more seriously if I don__'__t throw a temper tantrum and break all his stuff again._

"Harry?"

He looked up and the old professor's eyes were stern "I must ask that you learn to control your temper. It's unacceptable that it has gotten to this point - where you are skipping the one class that is more important for you than any other."

"Yes sir." Harry forced out through gritted teeth, "I'm sorry." He stared down at his desk in silence for several moments, waiting for the headmaster to speak again.

"My god Potter, do you have any backbone at all?"

Harry looked up in shock to see Malfoy settling into the seat in front of him.

"Malfoy!" he hissed, searching Draco's face for signs of that awful cut on his lip, but his skin was smooth.

"Don't wet yourself, he's gone!" the other boy smirked "Honestly though Potter, you're all talk and no action - did you even _think _to mention what Professor Snape said about your father?"

"Shut it Malfoy." Harry snapped, more angry because he knew he was right. Maybe the vision had only been only a dream?

"Whatever." Malfoy shrugged "So here we are - are you ready to listen to me?"

"Yes." he waited expectantly. What Draco said next would either confirm or deny Harry's vision.

For a moment Draco stared at him, and Harry noticed he was wringing his hands almost imperceptivity as he held them in his lap.

"I've been thinking that I want out Potter."

"Excuse me?" Harry schooled an expression of confusion onto his face.

"I want out of the Dark Lord's game."

Harry froze.

After a moment of trying to think of how to reply, Harry stared harder at Malfoy. He could see no sign of the tiredness or illness he had seen a few days ago. Nor could he see any signs of torture. If Voldemort really had tore his skin with his fingernails, he must have healed it afterwards.

"Why," Harry said slowly "why are you telling me this? Why not Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore!" Malfoy curled his lip "Potter, I don't mean to sour our deal before I even propose it, but that old moron _uses _people, and I _won't_ be used."

At this statement, Harry felt an odd mixture of respect and regret. He was pretty sure that this was Draco's real opinion. If only _he _had been as assertive and determined not to be used, Sirius might still be alive.

"He's a manipulator. If I go to him, the next thing you know I'll be spying for the light side, risking my life."

Malfoy paused for breath, then his face pinked slightly and he looked down.

"What, so you want our side to help you for nothing in return?" Harry shot back indignantly, trying to remember to act as if he hadn't seen anything in a vision beforehand.

Malfoy scowled, then reluctantly said "I'll tell everything I know, if it helps you people, but I won't be a spy. I want to live."

There was a silence, and Harry thought about that. There was a chance that Harry could get some real information, if he helped Malfoy - unless of course Draco just lied.

"What exactly do you want me to do about this then? It's Dumbledore, not me who can hide you and protect you - if that's what you're after."

"No Potter. I don't want to rely on him. I realise you think -" Malfoy pulled a face and started again "-I realise that you trust him, but I don't. I think you'll give me a fairer deal." He stated this baldly, and Harry sensed that the other boy figured that the less he lied the more likely Harry was to accept this story.

"What do you mean, a fairer _deal_? You think I'll treat you better than Dumbledore?" he really was curious about this.

"I don't think you'll exploit me if I put my trust in you. Dumbledore will use me, the way he's using - the way he uses others." Malfoy looked as if he wanted to kick himself for what he'd almost said.

"What were you going to say?" Harry said quickly. _The way Dumbledore uses who? Snape? But Malfoy doesn't know Snape works for Dumbledore…_

Malfoy looked angry at himself again "I just meant… well Potter, I know you won't agree, but I've always thought he's using you. But back to the poi-"

"No." Harry said quickly, slightly angry now. "Tell me why you think that." It made him very uncomfortable that Malfoy had 'always' thought this, when Harry was only beginning to realise it himself. Had he looked like a fool all along, blindly following Dumbledore's every command?

"If I tell you, you won't listen to me. You're already pissed off-"

"No, I'll listen, I want to know." Harry demanded.

Malfoy looked at the floor. "My father has always said Dumbledore is a manipulator. It's obvious you trust Dumbledore, but I can't see why. He must have brainwashed you, because as far as I can see, he's made your life a misery."

This didn't make sense to Harry in the slightest. How would Malfoy know about how he had been feeling all summer? That he had spent months in anger because Dumbledore didn't care that Harry was unhappy or abused, as long as he was alive?

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he could have sent you to be brought up by a decent family, couldn't he?" Malfoy explained "Even if they weren't pureblood, any wizarding family would have been better than muggles."

"You'll never change, will you?" Harry said disgustedly.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Malfoy snapped "I just meant - well muggles aren't the same as us! Didn't they hate you because you're magical? That's what everyone says."

"Yes," Harry said "But not all-"

"Prove it." Malfoy said confidently "Tell me if you've ever met a muggle who likes you, even though you're a wizard."

Harry had no reply to this. He hadn't met any other muggles who knew about him being a wizard. Malfoy looked horribly smug at his silence, but Harry couldn't bring himself to tell Malfoy that he had had no other muggle family or friends to confide in his entire life.

"Why do you suddenly want to change sides?" Harry abruptly changed the subject, and Malfoy lost his smirk and looked tense again.

"The Dark Lord - " he leaned closer, speaking very quietly "- he wants me dead. He's set me a task to carry out this year, and he wants me to die doing it, to punish my father."

Harry didn't doubt that this was the truth.

"Well maybe," Harry said angrily "If you had thought about this before you signed up -"

"I didn't _sign up_ Potter, you idiot!" Malfoy snapped "Did you sign up to be brought up by muggles? No, you just _were_. I've had this coming for years, and only since the last year or so have I known what it will mean if I take the Dark Mark! I can't do those things, the things they'll expect me to do! What was I supposed to do, turn my back on my family? It's not as easy as it sounds, Potter! Where would I go? To my friends - oh wait," he spat "their parents serve the Dark Lord too!"

Malfoy now looked sullen and angry, and he showed no signs of regret at his harsh words this time.

"Potter, what I want is to be able to get protection through you. If you pretend to befriend me, and then appeal to Dumbledore for me, then he'll take you seriously, the same as if you asked him to protect Weasley or Granger.

During this speech, Harry felt his jaw involuntarily move closer to the floor. When Malfoy had finished speaking, Harry tried to find words several times before he finally managed to get out

"Let me get this straight. You - you want to _be my friend?_" he said disbelievingly.

"I wouldn't say that, Potter" Malfoy answered in a hard voice, staring out to the left of Harry in a manner which made him feel too much like Voldemort in his dream to be comfortable. "It'll be a relationship of mutual benefit. You don't have to speak to me often, I just want to be seen in your presence, by Dumbledore at least, speaking on friendly terms occasionally. I don't know what will convince you to agree to act your part but in return I'm willing to offer-" Malfoy paused then looked Harry in the eye "I can offer money." he stared back out at the pitch "Thousands of galleons."

"I don't-"

"The only thing is I'll have to pay you upfront, and soon before wind of this reaches my mother and I'm disinherited. Of course-"

"Malfoy, I don't need money."

Malfoy looked up sharply again "Of course you don't but - well, one doesn't _need _money but a little more couldn't hurt - you could buy yourself a quidditch team with what I'm willing to offer!"

"I-"

"You could even give it to Weasley! I'm sure he wouldn't-"

"Malfoy. I don't need or want your family's money."

The Slytherin's gaze darkened "Well why don't you just tell me what I have to give you to get what I want?" he hissed, leaning forward and impatiently brushing his hair away as it fell in front of his eyes. "I want this resolved now, so that you won't run and tell anyone while you pretend to make up your mind! I want to know immediately when you decide to refuse me so that I can be on guard -" Harry stared disbelievingly at him and Malfy's voice grew more urgent "This is a matter of life and death for me, damn it Potter! Give me an answer now!"

Harry tried not to look at Malfoy's angry face as he attempted to think, because whatever the other boy was saying, that horribly familiar expression was making him want to punch him.

He didn't like or trust Malfoy and he certainly didn't want him hanging around. He didn't want him listening into conversations and he didn't want to get used to him being around when he had his guard down. But then he didn't want to send him back to Voldemort with bad news. He just couldn't do that to anyone, not even Malfoy.

"What if I turn you down?" he asked, gathering his thoughts

"I'll be initiated as a Death Eater in - in a while from now. " Malfoy's voice was low and quiet again, his face blank.

Harry ignored the lies and tried to think.

He could try to pretend to go along with Malfoy's plan, and that might save him from Voldemort's wrath - for now. But Harry would have to be incredibly careful. One mistake and-

"Potter, you need to help me!" Malfoy burst out, looking desperate, but Harry saw there was no way he could let Malfoy win with a pathetic statement like that. Harry still smarted at how immature Malfoy had thought he was before, without him taking on Malfoy after one desperate show of the Slytherin version of puppy dog eyes.

"Don't act as if I owe you this, after everything you've done."

"Well, to be honest, I feel like you do owe me a little something, yes." Malfoy snapped

"What-!?" Harry exclaimed angrily "What could you possibly-"

"It's your fault the Dark Lord returned. If you hadn't bent your morals so that it was suddenly okay for you to cheat your way through the Triwizard Tournament - that's right Potter, it was pretty obvious to everyone you had help - then Diggory wouldn't have died and the Dark Lord would have stayed dead and my family would have stayed the same."

Harry stomach seemed to freeze as Malfoy locked eyes with him and Harry stared into icy coldness and had no doubt that this was the truth as Draco saw it.

"I think you should go to Dumbledore with this." he said. Harry wished he didn't know that Draco would never go to Dumbledore, he wished it didn't have to be himself or nothing. He felt ill at the thought of Malfoy following him around when he knew he blamed Harry for ending up in Voldemort's ranks.

"I need _you _to help me - Dumbledore would make me do things - you know just as well as I do he'll manipulate me into doing something I don't want to! I bet _you _don't even know the depths that he's manipulated you to."

"And I suppose you do know and you're going to exchange that knowledge to me in exchange for-"

"No I don't know!" Malfoy cut him off "But at least, unlike your Gryffindor friends I would believe that it's been happening to you!"

"How on earth would you know how they would react-?!"

"Oh come on, anyone with eyes can see you aren't talking to them!"

"So you're offering to take the place of Ron and Hermione!"

"Well it's not like you even want them anymo - oh for fuck's sake Potter, will you just _listen_!" Malfoy grabbed his shoulder again to stop Harry from looking away in an effort to curb his need to punch him.

"Well stop insulting my friends!"

"I'm not - I'm -I'm _begging _you!" Malfoy looked pained and had dropped his voice into a whisper as if the trees might tell his father that a Malfoy was begging. "You - you have no idea! If your parents were alive - you -"

"I'd watch what you were saying Malfoy." Harry said coldly.

"Potter if your parents were alive then you'd know what it meant to care about your family."

"I _care _-"

"Unconditionally. No matter what they believed or did."

"My parents would never do anything like your parents-"

"But suppose they did? You can't just turn off feelings! You would still _care _about them, even if what they believed was - was -"

"Evil?" Harry suggested icily

"Yes whatever!" Malfoy whispered urgently "But I _can _go my own way! I can do that, even if they see it as betrayal. But on top of all that, to have to spy on them?"

"You can't expect protection for nothing-"

"But what kind of protection is it, if I still have to kill people, so that no one gets suspicious? I might as well follow the same beliefs as my parents, because at least then I wouldn't have to pass on information about my family, and betray them as well as be a Death Eater?"

Harry paused. Malfoy had a point. The Slytherin really would be losing more by going to Dumbledore than becoming a Death Eater. Except that he would have the knowledge that he was doing 'the right thing' which somehow, Harry thought ironically, probably wouldn't be enough to keep Malfoy happy.

He wondered if Malfoy had thought this all through so carefully because he had actually considered going to Dumbledore at one point.

"Do you understand?" Malfoy said, his face eager now "That its you help me or nothing? You can convince yourself that I should have gone to Dumbledore, but you can see for

yourself, that's not even a logical decision! Only you can help me. Will -" his voice faltered "will you consider it?"

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Malfoy was lying - to an extent. Harry didn't doubt that Draco wanted to be away from Voldemort, but what he didn't know was whether Malfoy actually ever would trust Harry enough to stop trying to betray him to Voldemort and let Harry _really _help him. Harry suspected not, but he could always try. It would mean he would have to pretend to believe this story for now.

"Look," Malfoy said hesitantly "I just…I've seen what it would be like, serving _Him _and I don't - I don't think I can do it. It's not just what I would have to do, it's how - how I would be treated."

"Yeah, he would torture you." Harry said, watching him for a reaction.

"I meant," Malfoy ignored him "I cannot crawl."

"What?" Harry asked, confused

"My father taught me that Malfoy's don't bow to anyone, but he bows and scrapes and crawls and kisses the floor. I wasn't made for that. If anything, people should be bowing to _me_"

"Lovely." Harry replied dryly.

Harry somehow didn't think Draco would want this getting back to Voldemort, but he was pleased that he wasn't hearing lies about at least one thing.

Harry pretended to think hard for a couple of minutes, and tried to look unsure of himself when he finally spoke again.

Malfoy looked calm and collected, and he didn't look away when their eyes met.

"Well … I've thought about it, and I can't turn you down with a clear conscience. I haven't made up my mind completely yet though. I do want to help you, but I have questions - and conditions."

"Well why don't I explain my plan first, then you can see if you want to go along with it?" Malfoy waited for Harry's nod of assent before he continued talking.

"Right. Well basically the ideal thing would be for us just to become best friends and hang around with each other twenty-four-seven. I join your side, be your friend for - shall we say until summer - and then you petition my case to Dumbledore. But somehow I don't think it's going to go so smoothly."

"No." Harry agreed "What about your parents? What will they do when they find out? And what if they find out before you're under Dumbledore's protection?"

"I was getting to that Potter," Malfoy said irritably "Now if you'll just list-"

"Harry!"

Harry's eyes flew over Malfoy's shoulder to where Hermione stood, staring confusedly at his 'study partner'. Behind her, Ron looked mutinous.

"Hermione." Harry replied carefully. At least she didn't look angry with him, he supposed.

"We were wondering if we could talk." she said timidly, her eyes studiously focussed on Harry alone, while Ron glared unrelentingly at Malfoy.

Harry considered.

"Malfoy, could you give us a minute?" he said after a second, then scowled as Malfoy gave an angry snort, and knocked the chair over. As he stalked off, he called over his shoulder:

"I'm not waiting around on the golden trio. Be here tomorrow."

"So…" Harry said uncertainly as Hermione and Ron stood awkwardly before him, Ron's scowl not entirely erased as his eyes flickered from Malfoy's retreating back to Harry.

"Can we sit down?" Hermione asked, trying to mask her confusion at the Slytherin's presence, and Harry nodded. There was an awkward silence as everyone settled down and exchanged awkward glances.

"Harry we wanted to apologise." Hermione started, then stopped as Ron made an odd noise in his throat. "That is," she corrected, going red and staring at her hands in her lap "we don't think you've treated us fairly, and some of the things you said to us weren't right. I even think you might have interpreted some things wrongly on purpose because you've been angry at us for a while."

Harry flinched as he realised the truth in her words.

"But our apology still stands." she continued "We've been insensitive and while we don't really understand what you're going through, we'd like to still be there for you and for you to help us understand so that we can be friends again."

She looked over at Ron and coughed pointedly and he shuffled forward in his seat and reluctantly met Harry's eyes.

"I don't understand why you're being like this." he said bluntly "I don't like it and I don't understand it and I'm still angry at what you said to us. But I know if I wait until I'm not angry to talk to you it might be too late. So I'm not sorry yet, but soon I will be, and I don't want to lose our friendship."

"Guys…" Harry stared at his two best friends, feeling horribly guilty and unhappy as he realised how confused and worried his friends were for him. He felt as if he wanted to apologise, but he was still angry at them and didn't know if he wanted to be near them anyway. But how was he supposed to tell them he was sorry, and then tell them to keep away?

"I'm sorry too." he said finally. "I don't know how to explain why I've been acting like this, not just because I don't think that you would understand, but also because I don't know myself really. It just feels like … a lot of people expect me to be 'The Boy Who Lived' and all that rubbish. I'm sick of it, you two haven't had you life ruled by other people the way I do."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked "I mean it sucks that you have to go to the muggles in the summer, but it's the safest-"

"_That__'__s_ what I mean Ron!" he smacked his hand on the table "I grew up being treated like how the Malfoy treated Dobby, sleeping in a cupboard and all! How could Dumbledore think that was what was best for me? Yes I'm alive at the end of each summer, but to live like that…" he sighed "sometimes it doesn't feel worth it."

"Oh Harry!" Hermione's eyes were glistening with unshed tears and sliding into the seat beside him.

"This summer is the first time I've tried to be normal. I wanted clothes that weren't Dudley's old rags. I wanted to look good for once. I'm trying to be my own person, and it's like you guys don't want to be there for me because I've changed. Still, I'm sorry about how I've been acting. It's just hard, figuring everything out."

"Harry, we'll be there for you if you'd just give us the chance." Hermione said earnestly and Ron nodded reluctantly.

"I'm sick of being told how to live my life, and its worse because I've just come back after dealing with my aunt and uncle. I just …" he paused, voicing thoughts which he hadn't allowed himself to ponder "My parents wouldn't have wanted me to go to live with Aunt Petunia, I mean she obviously hated my mum. I've been wondering if it wasn't all Dumbledore's idea."

"Well if it was, he only meant for you to be safer." Hermione frowned

"No, I mean…" Harry thought for a moment "Petunia _really _hates magic. My mum must have known that, I just can't see her letting Dumbledore send me to live with her and if he's not related to me, and he's not my guardian, then what right did he have to send me to the Dursleys?" he finished quietly.

"Well it would have been in your parent's will, right? Dumbledore was your parent's secret keeper and he sent Hagrid to take you to the Dursleys because he knew where you were and got to you the fastest. If he didn't I'm sure someone from the ministry would have come." Ron said, a puzzled expression on his freckled face.

"Or Death Eaters. It was lucky he got there first!" Hermione added

"But I've already said, why would my mum send me to be with her sister who hates magic? Why not someone who she trusted to take care of me? I mean Sirius was in Azkaban, but the second choice would have been Lupin, right? Or some friend of mum's I suppose…"

Hermione shook her head dismissively "The ministry would never send Harry Potter to live with a werewolf! I know you don't like to be treated differently, but the ministry would have bent laws so that you could be with anyone other than him. They would have ruled that you be sent to the next person on the list -"

"If my mum cared about me at all then the Dursleys wouldn't even be on that list. I would have gone to the next person-"

"Dumbledore wouldn't have gone against your parent's will Harry. People don't normally have long list of substitute guardians, they wouldn't expect them _all _to be unsuitable. The next one would probably have been Wormtail in any case and to be honest you were probably better off with your relatives than him. In a case where there's no suitable designated guardians, it's law that you should be sent to your closest relative"

Harry stared back at Hermione glumly. In the face of cool logic, his argument had dissipated.

"Mate, if it really bothers you, why don't you just ask Dumbledore to see the will?" Ron said

"Why should Dumbledore have it!" Harry said frustrated "He's my headmaster, nothing else! It's not like he has everyone else's dead relatives' wills!"

"Ron's not saying he does Harry, calm down." Hermione placed a cool hand on his arm

"Sorry, it's just he does act like a sort of guardian to you, whether he's supposed to or not." Ron shrugged "You expect him to have all the answers when it comes to your past, don't you? But anyway, I suppose you could just go to Gringotts, they usually have copies of public records so that they know what to do with inheritances."

"Maybe I will." Harry said thoughtfully. It would most likely be a lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but he had barely anything left of his parents and it couldn't hurt to look it over.

"Are you okay Harry?" Hermione asked, taking his hand and squeezing it "I'm glad you've told us what's been bothering you."

"Yeah I'm fine." Harry gave her a smile that probably looked more like a grimace "It's just it worries me how little I know about things, but Dumbledore knows it all and has been managing it all behind my back."

"What?" Hermione looked sceptical.

"Well…not exactly I suppose." he admitted "It just that the fact that until this summer I didn't even know how much money was in my vault. It just worries me that Dumbledore did even though he has no legal claim over me, but he never sat down with me to talk about managing my own finances. It makes me wonder if he ever was going to at all, and why he had access to my vaults in the first place."

"How do you know Dumbledore had access to your vaults?" Hermione asked doubtfully.

"Well he gave Hagrid my key to buy my school supplies in first year, and he's had it ever since. He gives it to Ron's mum every year so that I can get my school stuff while I'm staying at the Burrow - apart from third year though, he had Fudge pass it on to me. I gave it back to Mrs Weasley after that though. I never really questioned why." Harry admitted, feeling stupid.

"Well, I'm sure he had a good reason for keeping it." Hermione said uncertainly "You could always ask him, if reading your parents' will doesn't clear it up."

"Mate the other option was probably that he gave it to the muggles, you wouldn't have wanted that, would you?"

"No way." Harry shuddered "He was probably keeping it unofficially then, but if giving it to the Dursleys was the only other option then I don't blame him. Well I'll owl Gringotts and see what they say. Anyway, it's getting late. Do you want to go back to the common room?" he said hopefully.

"Come on then!" Hermione rolled her eyes with a knowing smile.

_A/N: Right, I've just figured out how to see my page views and am astounded. This fic has like hundred of visitors reading the entire fic, and yet I haven't got a review in ages, and this story has hardly any (story of all my fics __L__ ). Please, PLEASE leave me a review and let me know you appreciate my fic, a lot of work went into it and I really really appreciate each and every review. _

23


	7. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't make money from writing about Harry Potter, who only belongs to JK Rowling, not me._

Harry hesitated, his knuckles raised, then closed his eyes and knocked. After several moments, the door swept open and Snape was soon glaring down at him, so much fury in his black eyes that he had to force himself not to step back. Clearly Snape had not forgiven him yet.

"And to what, Potter," Snape sneered "Do I owe the pleasure for this visit?"

"I'm here for detention sir." he replied, and his heart sank automatically as Snape gave a thin smile, the one that usually heralded bad news.

"And why are you reporting to me when I organised for your detention to be with Mr Filch.?"

"Sorry?" Harry said blankly, searching his memory for this bit of information.

"Forty points from Gryffindor Mr Potter," Snape drew himself up and sneered down at him "for failing to report to me earlier. If you had done so, you would know this information!"

"Sir!" Harry protested "I didn't know-"

"Of course you didn't, you miserable fool, because you didn't bother to find out!" Snape spat "Ten points for keeping Mr Filch waiting! Now get out of my sight!" he spat and slammed the door, leaving Harry's ears ringing.

When Harry finally made it back up to the ground floor he had to pause outside Filch's office door to collapse against the wall, panting and wheezing. He was still half way through knocking when Filch wrenched the door open and hobbled towards him, his yellow teeth bared and clutching Mrs Norris.

"Thought you'd just turn up when it pleased you, did you filthy little beast!" Filch ranted "Up to the fourth floor! You'll be cleaning - and you won't be using your wand!"

Harry walked miserably behind the caretaker, resisting the urge to throw his wand at Mrs Norris who was staring smugly at him over Filch's shoulder.

When they reached the fourth floor, he was handed a mop pointed towards a large muddy patch of reeds, mud and mosquitoes. As he worked, Harry composed a complaint letter to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in his head.

…ooo000ooo…

The Gryffindor common room fire crackled merrily, its dancing flames taunting Harry's grim mood. The portable swap had proved near impossible to mop up and he'd had to wrench the reeds out by the roots and throw them out the nearest window. As a result, his hands were covered in cuts and he smelled strongly of rotting plant life, despite having taken a shower in order to get rid of the mud.

Hermione relaxed in an armchair, knitting needles clicking at full speed, with yet another small, hideous scarf - or was it a hat - edging into existence, one mauve-hued row at a time.

Ron hummed and hawed over a Charms essay, hoping to catch Hermione's attention. He didn't understand why she started a conversation with Lavender (who was flicking through a magazine two seats away) every time he tried to ask her opinion on the incantation for colour changing charms; he just couldn't associate his usual pronunciation of the charm with the strange lettering in his notes - or was it just his handwriting? He sighed and decided to just not worry about it. He was doing well on his essay, all things considered - he almost had two and a half feet - only half a foot to go. If only he get Harry to stop fidgeting and making indecisive noises, he might be able to finish the essay tonight. He knew Harry was wanting to bring something up with them, and although he had initially been bursting to ask about it, he had decided, going along with his resolution to be a better friend, to wait until Harry was ready to bring it up, rather than pushing him to satisfy his own curiosity.

It was hard though, especially when he was also dying to ask Harry what was going on with Malfoy and the Slytherins, or whether he had written to Gringotts about the Potters' will yet. On a brighter note, he'd managed to quench his anger surprisingly fast after apologising to Harry. Maybe he should nip things like this in the bud more often?

It was Hermione who finally cracked.

"What is it Harry?" she said finally, after surveying the unusual scene of Ron trying to concentrate for several silent minutes, having noted Harry's strange behaviour for a full half hour now.

Harry's head jerked up in surprise and Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _Did he really think he was being discreet?_

Ron shook his head, irritated. _The one time I try to be patient __…_

The pair waited, not quite with bated breath and Ron was sure he wasn't the only one expecting some sort of emotional outburst without much substance; he was sure he hadn't heard the last from Harry's new, angry, personality that seemed to resurface every few days. Surely this couldn't all be about Malfoy? Unless something big had happened…

Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione's curious faces and took a deep breath.

"I - I said I wouldn't say anything to you yet but…well I think you should know. And I want you opinion on what to do now."

"What is it Harry?" Hermione urged

"I've - I've made a deal with Malfoy."

"You _what_?" Ron looked amused, clearly thinking this was some kind of joke. Hermione simply looked shocked and confused.

"I - he doesn't want to be on Voldemort's side anymore. He sort of … wanted my protection. I honestly thought he was mostly telling the truth." He felt as if he owed his friends as much of the truth as he could give them. He forced himself to look up, only to see Ron and Hermione's shocked faces staring back at him, wordless. Right. He had sounded like an idiot.

"_Mostly _telling the truth?" Hermione said faintly "Harry, you can't base you decision on a guess-"

"I just couldn't - if it meant giving Voldemort another follower - he seemed sincere-"

"_Malfoy seemed sincere_" Ron's ears were turning red "Malfoy seemed - and what exactly do you get in return for this? Harry, have you completely forgotten the last five years?"

"No - but-" Harry persisted

"Are you insane?"

"Look," Harry said angrily, getting caught up in the argument "Even Dumbledore said we should try to help people from other houses-"

"I thought you didn't believe anything Dumbledore tells you anymore?" Ron snapped "Malfoy just wants to spy on us!"

"I realise that's possible!" Harry snapped back "But I'm not convinced that's all there is to it! I think he is actually scared of being a Death Eater, and if there's any chance to persuade him to join our side-"

"Harry," Hermione cut in "I think Ron's right. It's very good of you to try and be open minded, but in your case, there's so much more at risk - especially with Malfoy. I don't think it's worth taking a chance - he can't be trusted. What does this 'protection' involve?"

Harry gulped. Here it was.

"He wanted us to pretend to be friends, so that when I put forward his case for protection to Dumbledore, he'll be taken seriously. He thinks Dumbledore will just want to use him, use him as a spy against his own family, if he goes directly to him.

"No Harry - say you can't." Hermione said immediately, as Ron looked incredulous.

"What, he won't even do anything in return for this, for the Order? Say no Harry! He's up to something!"

"I already said yes." he muttered. "And you never know, he might give some information to the Order in return."

Hermione paled

"Harry- you're relying too much on 'what ifs'. I know you mustn't want another Death Eater in the world, but don't let him use that to manipulate you! I'm really sorry for bringing this up again, but Voldemort _knows _you have a thing for saving people! And after everything he's done-"

"He called Hermione a mudblood - repeatedly - or have you forgotten!?" Ron said in a low dangerous voice

"No I haven't." Harry said, temper boiling at Hermione's reference to his mistake that resulted in Sirius's death. "But I honestly think Malfoy was telling the truth - you weren't there-"

"A second ago you said you weren't sure!" Hermione pleaded

"Oh don't make any more excuses and just tell the truth!" Ron bellowed.

The common room fell silent around them as heads turned in their direction.

"What are you on about Ron?" Harry said, his heart heavy. _Not again__…_

"You've been full of crap since the start of term! Shouting at Ginny, punching me-"

"You deserved that!" Harry said, stung.

"Feeling sorry for yourself the whole summer, have you -"

"Siri-Snuffles died, in case you forgot-" Harry spat, his voice low and dangerous.

"Yeah, and it was all your fault, we know, we know - but your not going to put us all in danger by bringing _him _into this! I know what this is - first it was rebelling against Dumbledore, now us - don't try to pretend you're following Dumbledore's advice - you just want an excuse to cause trouble so that you can _prove _something to everyone - "

"I'm not trying to prove anyth-"

"STOP!" Hermione screamed

Harry and Ron whipped around. Hermione's face was white and there were tears trembling on her eyelashes

"I do _not _agree with this Harry, it's dangerous. But it's clear you're going to go ahead and do it anyway. Ron - thank you for sticking up for me, but I can look after myself. I think we should support Harry whatever he-"

"I'm not getting involved in - I don't want anything to do with-" he snarled.

"And neither do I!" Hermione said "But, despite all that, I want to be there for Harry in case this all goes wrong!"

Ron didn't answer but merely turned away and Harry's hackles rose at the insinuation. He could tell what Hermione really meant was _when _it went wrong.

"Mark my words though Harry," she turned to him "He can't be trusted."

Harry swallowed.

"I'm not convinced either, Hermione, but I just can't turn my back on someone who needs my help - he's desperate, and I can tell that much. We can just be careful around him until we know for sure."

"No Harry." Hermione, still pale looked determined and resolute "He's done too much. I'll never trust him. I'm here for you, but I refuse to spend time with Ma-" she paused, realising the rest of the common room was waiting with bated breath "- with him. I do want to witness this so-called 'sincerity' though. When are you meeting him?"

"Half an hour - in the library…" Harry mumbled after hesitating for a brief second, not only aware of the people around them, but also wondering if Malfoy's 'sincerity' was up to Hermione's sharp eyes.

"I'll be there," Hermione said "but after everything he's said and done Harry, after this I don't ever want to be near him. And you'd better make sure he never calls me that - that _word _again."

…ooo000ooo…

Harry sat opposite Malfoy at the most secluded table in the library. Two feet away, behind the nearest bookshelf, Hermione stood concealed under the invisibility cloak.

"So." Malfoy said, looking supremely unconcerned, with not a hair out of place, all vestiges of emotions gone without a trace.

"I have some questions." Harry said flatly. After the second fight with Ron he just couldn't bring himself to make an effort to be polite to Malfoy, especially with how haughtily he was looking down his nose at him. The most selfish part of him was regretting his decision, but he knew what he had to do.

"Shoot." Malfoy motioned impatiently with his hand.

"We can't stand each other. I don't want to hang around with you. I just don't see how this is going to work. You're irritating me right this second." Harry spoke his mind, partially hoping it would answer the questions Hermione must have, and partly to hear his answer to the question which had Harry stumped.

Malfoy cocked an eyebrow "If the feeling is mutual, I'll leave. If only you feel that way, I'll do everything to avoid getting in your way or antagonising you, but I need your protection. However I think you are being unreasonably rude, currently I'm doing nothing which I feel is offensive and I think you're letting past feelings cloud your judgement."

"How about the way you're looking at me like I'm a piece of dirt!" Harry whispered furiously, incensed, but careful not to raise his voice and attract Madam Pince.

Malfoy opened his mouth then shut it again. He looked irritated and looked away from Harry.

"It's called a professional, business manner, Potter." The Slytherin was staring at the bookshelf behind Harry, as if in an effort not to look down at him condescendingly any longer. "You're hardly a friend so it wouldn't be right to speak as if we were - it would be unnatural. If I talk to you as if you're an enemy, you'll leave. This is how I speak to people I don't care about either way."

_He wasn't being such a bastard yesterday though. _Harry thought, then decided to just move onto the next question.

"Whatever. Are you just going to start hanging around with me? How will this work? And what about your family?"

Malfoy gave a long suffering sigh

"Like I said yesterday, I can't see us just suddenly being best of friends. It's not believable or likely to work. I think we should start off meeting in secret, just to get used of the idea of spending time together. That way, if things really don't work out, we can just call it quits and walk away. That means my parents need never find out I considered this. If anyone finds out, you say you're spying on me to find out my evil plans and I'll say I'm trying to trick you into something. But if it turns out we _can _tolerate each other, we can slowly allow ourselves to be seen in public, and just work on it from there."

"And when your parents do find out?"

"Nothing, until father's head of the family again." Harry frowned, he didn't like how sure Draco was at his father escaping Azkaban " But after that, I'll be disowned." Malfoy's voice was light and airy, as if he couldn't care less. Harry supposed there was no chance of it happening - for all he knew, Lucius was in on this ruse.

"But no need to fret." Malfoy continued "I have enough family valuables hidden in my trunk to keep me in silk shirts for some time. My father on the other hand, when he leaves - when he's free he'll probably be told to hunt me down and kill me. I'll need your help with that." He nodded at Harry, who shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't keen on the idea of shielding Malfoy of all people from Lucius Malfoy and a bevy of Death Eaters. However in the mean time he was unsatisfied at Malfoy's answers.

"For someone who's going to betray your parents, you seemed pretty close to your father last time I saw you together. And you didn't seem exactly hostile towards your mother either, even if _she _didn't look too loving -"

"I don't want to talk about that." Malfoy's airy expression disappeared as if behind shutters.

"I guess we're done then." Harry made as if to leave, and Malfoy quickly begun speaking, and Harry noticed his knuckles were clenched so tightly they were white - whiter than Malfoy's usual pale colouring.

"My mother can't stand the sight of me these days because I look like my father." Malfoy's eyes were fixed on the table, expressionless "We've never been close in any case and she 's always avoided too much direct contact with me."

There was an uncomfortable silence; Harry didn't know what to say.

Malfoy suddenly looked irritated and hence more his usual self "What you eavesdropped on at King's Cross - who taught you your manners by the way, goblins? - that was the last straw. I'm sick of being ignored, treated like someone else's pet. My father and I used to be closer but the Dark Lord - after his return I've been seeing a side of him I - one that I didn't know existed. I used to believe him, you know-" Malfoy now talked conversationally, playing with a strand of his hair as if they were discussing quidditch scores "-when he told everyone he'd been imperuised, last time he was accused of being a Death Eater."

Harry refused to give himself the opportunity to feel sympathy and quickly voiced his thoughts

"I don't know Malfoy. If I can stop Voldemort getting another supporter this would almost be worth it, but I just don't know if I can stand you following me around everywhere."

"It won't be like that Potter," Malfoy snorted "I don't want to be your girlfriend or anything, I just want to be able to walk up to you and act sort of friendly about twice a day. You never know, we might even become friends - " He paused, then laughed "Well even I doubt that, but in return, I'd be willing to do anything, within reason."

"Okay then." Harry thought hard, then decided to go for the plunge. "What did Voldemort asked you to do this year?"

Malfoy looked him right in the eye and said without hesitation "He asked me to kill Dumbledore."

Harry gaped. _What _a lie to make up, of all things! But then he supposed it was better than Draco straight out telling Harry that he was after him.

"Are you serious? But - "

"I told you he wants me dead. I'm not stupid enough to even attempt that." Malfoy's voice was suddenly urgent, and he leaned forward across the table "Look, I'm desperate here. If you don't agree to help me I'll have to go through with the mission I've been given, there's nowhere for me to run to. If I survive till I leave school, maybe…maybe I could go into hiding. But that means getting the Mark next year, and I'd rather not. The initiation ceremony is a bit - well it's not pleasant." Malfoy didn't meet his eyes as he said this and Harry felt ill, remembering the vision. He wondered what Draco had been forced to do.

Harry couldn't think of anything to say for a moment until a sudden memory nudged at the back of his mind. He asked a question for Hermione's benefit.

"After what you did to me on the Hogwarts Express, what made you think I would want to help you. It all seemed a bit sudden; one minute you're stunning me, the next you're asking me a favour." Harry was still smarting from the incident, truth be told. He felt embarrassed that Malfoy had caught him off guard, in a moment of hesitation

"Oh that. I apologise."

"What? Is that all?"

"What was I supposed to do Potter? You and Weasley were talking loudly right outside the carriage door where we could all hear you, I was being egged on by the whole lot to do something. Just because some of them knew that I wasn't keen on being on the dark lord's side, doesn't mean they thought I'd be rooting for you, and I couldn't exactly say anything with Crabbe and Goyle there - not that my other friends will take it well when I break my plans to them - but anyway, I couldn't risk not doing anything to you before I knew I could count on your help - I mean if Goyle got suspicious of me he'd report back to his parents in a flash. I said I was sorry what more can I do?"

_A great deal more than just say __'__sorry__'__, _Harry though viciously, then said

"What do your friends know, about you wanting to swap sides? Do they all know?"

"Some," Malfoy muttered "Crabbe and Goyle don't, Pansy does. Blaise's parents are neutral anyway so he won't care one way or another. Millicent doesn't. Nott…his father can't wait for him to be of age so that he can become a Death Eater, so he doesn't either."

"Nott? He seemed alright though."

"Well it's not like there's an easy way to say 'no thanks' to the Dark Lord, Potter. Being 'alright' doesn't get you out of it."

There was a sudden scuffing noise from behind the bookshelf and Malfoy's head suddenly whipped around,

"What's that?" he started to get to his feet.

"Probably nothing," Harry said hurriedly, hoping Hermione wouldn't make any further noise and quickly changed the subject

"Have - have you got the Dark Mark? I want to see your arm, just to be sure." Harry eyed Malfoy's sleeves apprehensively. Malfoy sat back down, still looking back at the bookshelf, and then after a few seconds looked back around and said

"I'm due to get it on my seventeenth birthday, in over a year, but mother - " he paused and pulled up his sleeves to show Harry his pale white forearms " - mother wants me to take my father's place sooner, now that he's in Azkaban. She's always wanted me to become just like my father," he said this much quieter "but I think I'd rather be a disappointment than to be what he's become."

It was this, more than anything else that made up Harry's mind once and for all. It rang with quiet truth, and Harry suddenly just_ knew_ that Malfoy truly didn't want this to happen to himself...even if in reality it had already happened. But Malfoy didn't know that Harry knew that. What mattered was that despite his lies, somewhere inside, Malfoy really did want to escape Voldemort, and Harry was the only one who could help him, even if he would have to use Malfoys lies against him to get him to work with Harry.

"Is there anything else?" Malfoy asked as Harry thought to himself. He hesitated before answering, and Malfoy tensed.

"There would be some conditions," Harry said haltingly "such as, after we've decided it works for both of us, I'd want you to announce in public that you're against Voldemort."

That was important. He needed people other than Slytherins to trust Malfoy more, so that Draco could experience what it would be like to truly be part of the light side - and hopefully it would be enough to persuade him to really join it.

Malfoy remained silent for a moment then spoke "Done."

"And you have to be polite to Ron and Hermione - and my other friends. And the deal is off if

you call anyone a mudblood."

Malfoy snorted "I would have though that would be obvious, Potter. I could hardly put on a good act of being all pally with the golden trio and still get away with insulting Granger and Weasel."

Harry paused. He was beginning to regret his decision already "For someone who needs my help, you're being a bloody unpleasant bastard, Malfoy," he snapped

Malfoy looked irritated, but said "I'll work on that. Old habits die hard. Anything else?" he smirked at Harry, who suppressed the urge to punch him.

"No. I think I've made a decision." Harry heard another almost inaudible noise from behind the bookshelf, but as Malfoy didn't seem to notice it, he continued "I know I've already said yes, but I want to confirm that we both agree on the conditions. And you should know that I won't fully trust you until you've made an announcement - to everyone." he tried to think of everything he needed Draco to agree to "And even then, if I think you're not trustworthy-"

"Hey!" Malfoy whispered angrily "This is a yes or no answer, you can't keep fobbing me off with a 'maybe' - my life is at stake here!"

Harry sighed, wondering what he was getting himself into, and if Malfoy was even capable of being a likeable person.

"What I meant was, the answer is yes, but only if you keep in line - be a decent person and don't antagonise my friends or bully first years - or anyone for that matter. And you're not to get involved in the Dark Arts in any way or the deal's off."

A grin spread over Malfoy's face

"Deal!" he held out a hand to shake Harry's, but at that moment there was a shout of

"NO! _Ron_-" and Ron himself came charging around the bookshelf, followed by a frantic looking Hermione

"Harry- I tried to tell him to go back, I _knew_ he would do this-" however her words were cut short by Ron, who jabbed an accusing finger into Malfoy's chest.

"You filthy little sneak!"

"Get your hands off me Weasel!"

"HA!" Ron exclaimed triumphantly, turning to Harry "You see, he hasn't changed at all! I bet he's just itching to call Hermione a mudblood the minute your back's turned!"

"_Ron_! I don't need you to-"

However Malfoy had stepped back, gritting his teeth as if it cost him a large slice of the family inheritance

"Apologies, Weasley, force of habit. I'll point out you called me a 'filthy little sneak' first-"

"Ron-" Harry tried to step between them, but Ron pushed him out the way

"That's because it's true! I'm not letting you take advantage of Harry just because he's having a rough time - he'll regret giving you a chance before long, but by then it'll be too late-"

"How dare you! You're the one who's a filthy sneak, lurking back there! This is between me and Potter, Weasley, and just because you're some sort of servant or _keeper _of his I'm not asking for your permi-"

THWACK! Ron lashed out and Harry punched his hand away, but Ron still managed to catch Malfoy on the lip.

"That's enough Ron!" Harry said angrily, ignoring the shooting pains in his hand and wrenching Ron away from Malfoy (whose lip was now gushing blood) by his shoulder.

Harry felt sickness rise inside him as the vision he's had two nights ago seemed to repeat itself, and a thick stream of blood dribbled down Draco's chin, the cut opening too easily, as if it had always been there, but hidden.

Ron struggled against him and Harry tried to focus, and tugged him backwards again. "Seriously Ron," Harry didn't let go of him "Stop it. We'll talk later-"

"LATER!" bellowed Ron "I can't believe this! Which one of us is supposed to be your friend, me or Ferret-Features here? I heard the way he's been talking - it's all lies Harry, I know it is!" Ron's ears were crimson, and he was breathing heavily, looking at Harry with angry desperation.

"Ron-" Harry tried

"You know what -" Ron's face was suddenly cold "I'll just stop causing trouble and leave you with your new _keeper, _seeing as you're done with this one-"

"Ron-"

"Take a running jump _Potter_." and with that, Ron stormed away, punching a stack of books onto the floor.

Harry surveyed the scene, shaking with anger, both at himself and at Ron. Malfoy's face was dripping with blood, but he began waving his wand over his lip and muttering something and soon the blood stopped flowing and after a quick cleaning spell, there was only a bruised cut on his lip left. Another wave of the wand and the mark disappeared altogether. Harry stared, sickly mesmerised at further confirmation of the vision.

"What's going on back there!" Madam Pince's voice, accompanied by the sound of running feet was coming from several rows away

"Quick! "Hermione looked at the blood-spattered books on the floor looking stricken, yet pulling Harry behind the nearest shelf, making as if to pull the invisibility cloak out of her pocket. She stopped however, when Malfoy followed them.

"Not you!" she hissed.

"I didn't ask for this!" Malfoy whispered back angrily "Either we all get in trouble or we all don't, now let me under that cloak!"

"How did you-?" Hermione looked suspicious and angry.

"For God's sake, I'm not an imbecile! How else were you and Weasley keeping out of sight except with Potter's cloak? Now _hurry!_"

Madam Pince was only feet away by the time the trio had managed to cover themselves with the cloak, almost crouching in an effort to keep their feet covered. Harry was uncomfortably wedged in the middle between Malfoy and Hermione.

"My _BOOKS_!" screeched Pince after she had rushed past them. The three took this as a cue to start shuffling uncomfortably towards the direction of the library door

"Who did this! You!" Pince screamed, and some unlucky student squeaked in terror "Fetch Professor McGonagall immediately! Some - some - _student _has desecrated these precious tomes! Tell her it's a matter of urgency-"

Harry, Malfoy and Hermione abandoned all secrecy and made a frenzied dash for the door, accompanied by screams of "Look at the state of these pages! Crumpled, stained and- _ripped_! There _will _be punishment!"

It was only once they had escaped to a secluded alcove on the floor below that the trio dared to remove the cloak. Panting, they leaned against the wall, Hermione's book bag dropped to the floor with a thud as she covered her face with her hands.

"I can't believe Ron did that." she whispered from between her palms "I don't know what's-"

"Forget Ron." Harry said shortly, not meaning it to sound as brutal as it had come out. He felt wretched, torn between his friend who he knew was overreacting, and his indignation at being deemed not well enough to make his own decisions.

Hermione winced at his words.

"Did you see the look on Pince's face?" came Malfoy's voice suddenly, and Harry almost jumped, half expecting him to have slunk away by now. He looked around to see him snickering to himself as he dusted off his robes

"I didn't think it was very funny." Hermione said stiffly.

"Oh come on," Malfoy straightened up, smirking "She looked like Filch that time when Mrs Norris got petrified!"

Harry had to stifled a snicker himself, remembering the pathetic mix of outrage and slight hint of tearful wobbly-lip that Filch had displayed that night, years ago.

"That old bat would have had us whipped if she could. Honestly Granger, I know you're into books, but now you're just being disagreeable for the sake of it."

Hermione merely turned up her nose at this comment.

…ooo000ooo…

_To whom it may concern,_

_My name is Harry Potter and I am writing to enquire about my parents__'__ (Mr James and Lily Potter) last will and testament. I was wondering if it would be possible for me to obtain a copy of the document to read over._

_Also I believe that currently the key to my vault is in the keeping of Professor Albus Dumbledore. I would like to enquire about how this arrangement came about, and whether it would be possible for Gringotts to remove the key from his possession, as I would like full control of my own finances._

_Currently I am in school, so I am unable to visit the bank, otherwise I would have liked to arrange a meeting to discuss these matters, but I have full confidence that Gringotts can answer my questions discreetly and in full confidence - however if this is not so, I would appreciate it if you did not inform any other individual of my queries._

_Thank you for your time,_

_Harry J. Potter_

…ooo000ooo…

On Wednesday afternoon, Harry made his way down to Hagrid's alone during a free period. He was yet to speak to Ron since the fight. Hermione was also unusually quiet, she was thoroughly engrossed in Arithmancy whenever he saw her, and barely responded when he told her about his lesson with the headmaster.

"I'm meeting a classmate in the library for a study session tonight," she admitted, when he asked her why this was, the previous night. For some reason she seemed a little flustered at his questions. When he asked her why she was studying for a study session, she merely mumbled something about 'making a good impression' and ducked back behind her book. At this Harry gave up and resolved to visit Hagrid the next day for sheer want of conversation, and joined Neville's team for a game of gobstones against one of Ginny's friends and a fourth year boy for the rest of the night.

In truth, Hermione had not meant to tell Harry about her meeting with Theo but it had just slipped out; she had been thinking about the meeting with Malfoy that she had witnessed but hadn't wanted to resurrect the subject with Harry again - it was clear he was going to do what he wanted no matter what she said.

Hermione tried not to worry about Harry's recent erratic behaviour, but she just couldn't help wondering whether this was simply a progression of the anger he had shown last year or something new. She would never forget the first time Harry had came to Grimmauld Place, when he had shouted at her and Ron so loudly that Fred and George had apparated downstairs to see what was going on.

She knew that most teenagers went through a rebellious stage; was this what was wrong with Harry? It worried her though, how he didn't seem to trust Dumbledore. It was a little fishy that he had Harry's Gringotts' key, even she thought that Dumbledore should have spoken to Harry about managing his own finances by now, but that didn't mean that the headmaster didn't care about Harry. True, Dumbledore was the one who insisted that he stay with the Dursleys but it was for Harry's own good. Perhaps it was also because he had told Harry he was the only one who could defeat Voldemort, but still, there was no way that he would force Harry to do anything he didn't want to. It was a terrifying prospect to consider, and perhaps anger was just Harry's way of dealing with it.

_That must be it, _she decided. Dumbledore had always tried to do what was best for Harry, even if it meant keeping things from him. It might not look like he had done the right thing from Harry's point of view, but in the end Harry was safe and alive, Everyone made mistakes, but she supposed she couldn't entirely blame her friend for feeling some resentment at the headmaster for the effects that his mistakes had had, because the foolish mistakes Harry had made were mostly made because he had been acting on the information that Dumbledore gave him.

Even if she was beginning to understand, she still worried about him. For the most part, when Harry was engaged in conversation he seemed as normal as ever, but at other times he would either remain silent or act short-tempered and snappy, though she wondered whether Harry even noticed he was doing it. Before their awful fight, she could tell Ron had been deeply affected by the sudden change in his friend's behaviour; he had gone out of his way not to antagonise Harry and he too had seemed quieter than usual. Now he wasn't speaking to either of them.

She also couldn't fathom where Harry's sudden desire to help Malfoy had come from. Malfoy had seemed politer than usual in the meeting in the library, and even vulnerable at times at a stretch. If it weren't for the sudden flashes of his old arrogant and rude personality showing through, she _might _have been fooled, but she just couldn't see how Harry was convinced at Malfoy's reasoning.

First of all, Malfoy had always _hated _Harry Potter. Appealing to Harry for help was just as likely as Harry appealing to Malfoy for help. It wasn't entirely unimaginable that Malfoy might not want to be a Death Eater, despite the way he had worshipped his father in the past, but wasn't he too much of a coward to completely come out and join the opposite side? And even if he wasn't, surely he would have found some other avenue to seek help? Even if he didn't trust Dumbledore, he could have approached another Order member. Tonks was his cousin, wouldn't he have been more likely to ask her rather than Harry? But then maybe he didn't know that Tonks was in the Order.

Malfoy's reasons aside, the only thing that Hermione supposed she could find a reason for was Harry's reaction. Someone had appealed to him for help and he couldn't say no. Harry really did have a 'saving people' thing, and perhaps that, coupled with his new rebellious and angry side, had caused him to go as far as to agree to help an old enemy, especially if it appeared that to do so would prevent Dumbledore from getting what he might have wanted, namely Malfoy as a spy.

…ooo000ooo…

Too preoccupied with thoughts of his lesson with Dumbledore to worry about Hermione, Harry was walking down to Hagrid's, while his head was spinning with thoughts of Merope and the handsome muggle she had conceived Voldemort with. His 'lesson' with Dumbledore the previous night had turned out to be no more than a pensieve session, although he had to admit everything he had learnt was interesting, he had yet to see where Dumbledore was going with it all.

The headmaster had explained that they would be working with a variety of memories that he had collected from several witnesses, he told Harry that he had drawn some conclusions from them, and he hoped that by showing him the memories, that not only would Harry learn some valuable information that would help him to defeat Voldemort, but he could offer a second viewpoints to his thoughts.

He had felt awkward and uncomfortable when he had first entered the headmasters office, unable to forget, how Dumbledore had betrayed him in so many small ways, never mind his burgeoning newer suspicions. He had wanted to confront Dumbledore about having more control over his own life and had wanted to elicit some kind of agreement about having more access to information regarding Voldemort, but he had decided not to say anything to him until he had found out why he had been in control of Harry's vault key. If it turned out that the professor didn't have a good reason for keeping it, it would give Harry's argument more substance. He didn't want to confront the headmaster only to sound like a whining child. As for his parents' will, well it would be interesting if he found out more information about his guardian choices there, but he doubted anything would come of that.

He had meant to act cold and uncaring, to give the old man a taste of his own medicine, but once he had seen the memories his curiosity had got the better of him, and it was only once he was descending the revolving staircase, heading back to Gryffindor tower that he realised that he had almost completely forgotten his anger.

Harry wasn't sure how to feel now; he had been holding onto his anger at Sirius's death, and he couldn't forget that Dumbledore, his unofficial protector and guardian had not only kept vital information from Harry again and again, but had turned a blind eye to his abuse. Now the headmaster was acting as if nothing had happened, and Harry knew it would be so easy to let it all go, and just carry on as before. He needed Dumbledore's help and guidance if he was to defeat Voldemort, yet what would it cost him? So far, Sirius was dead. Who was next, Hermione? Ron?

And did he want to kill Voldemort? Certainly, he wanted him dead and gone, but did he want to do it, to die for it? So far all the ill in Harry's life had been caused by Voldemort. Was he going to risk ending his life too for Voldemort? Didn't Harry deserve some happiness, a chance at a normal life?

He knew there was no chance that Voldemort would ever stop pursuing him, now that the prophecy had identified Harry as a threat. There was no escape; for a while Harry had dreamed of just moving abroad and leaving Voldemort and his past life behind him. But he couldn't force everyone he cared about to up and leave as well, so that they would be safe too. And even then, what about all the other innocent lives that might be lost? He wanted to remove the fear from his friends' lives, but why did it have to be him? Dumbledore was supposed to be the only wizard that Voldemort had ever feared, so why wouldn't he at least try to take him on? Was he afraid of failing?

Harry just couldn't deny it; unless another powerful wizard surfaced who decided to take down Voldemort, he, Harry, would have to try. He wished that Dumbledore would try to do it himself, but if he wouldn't then the fact remained that Harry could never live a full and happy life while Voldemort lived. If he tried, he would watch everyone he cared about fall around him, just like his parents and Sirius had, until only he was left and he could run no more. The least he could do was accept the fact that he would have to duel Voldemort at some point in the future and then prepare for it as best he could.

He had almost completely pushed the Malfoy issue from his mind, and so when the blond Slytherin followed him out of the entrance hall, he groaned and considered pretending he had a class.

"Afternoon Potter" Malfoy greeted cheerfully. Harry didn't answer at first, so unused to Malfoy taking this tone with him, he was momentarily speechless.

"I hope you're not going to ignore me," Malfoy said, his voice cold now "there's a group of my classmates watching us and I've told them that you trust me."

"Afternoon." Harry said to him, nodding. Malfoy didn't look entirely happy, so he quickly added "What have you said to your friends? I thought you said we'd be meeting in secret first?" to distract him.

"Theodore Nott saw me with you in the library so, like we arranged, they think I'm trying to find out your 'saviour of the wizarding world' plans." Malfoy said dryly.

"Oh." Harry couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't distinctly hostile.

"Chatty, aren't we?" Malfoy sounded cheerful, so Harry supposed he must get some enjoyment from his unease. Harry shrugged.

"What do you want with me anyway?"

Draco stared regretfully in the direction of Harry's pocket, but continued nevertheless. "I thought today we could try hanging around together for a bit. Where are you going? I have a free period too, and I thought this time would be best - less people around."

"I'm going to visit Hagrid actually." Harry said this with an air of triumph - there was no way Malfoy would come along now, and if he did, Hagrid wasn't likely to let him in his hut after the Buckbeak incident.

Malfoy stopped walking, looking disgusted. Them, seeing the cheerful expression now on Harry's face, continued walking, obviously forcing himself to adopt a neutral expression.

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily," he smirked "it can't be that smel- er - bad inside that shack, can it? And besides, with any luck he'll be outdoors and I can pretend to be picking potions ingredients or something to avoid talking to the great oa- er him."

Harry gritted his teeth.

"Let's get one thing straight," he ordered "If you're going to be around my friends - and Hagrid's one of them - you can't be rude, and you can't ignore them. In fact," he had an idea that was sure to put Malfoy off following him, at least for today "in fact, you have to treat Hagrid as well as you do your own friends - and apologise about trying to get Buckbeak executed!"

Malfoy looked confused "Who's Buckbeak?"

Harry wanted to punch him "The hippogriff that you _pretended _was dangerous in third year. The one you had your father sentence to death? Surely you remember, all the pathetic whimpering and crying you did?"

Malfoy looked distinctly pissed off. "Fine." He increased his stride, and so did Harry

"Good." he snapped back.

When Hagrid answered his front door and saw Harry and Malfoy standing side by side, both wearing sulky expressions and fists clenched, he merely stared. Harry looked at Malfoy and realised how they must look.

"Hi Hagrid - I just came by to visit and bumped into Malfoy here."

Hagrid looked confused and then turned his eyes to Malfoy, looking hostile.

"What der ye want, Malfoy?"

Malfoy seemed to be having some kind of internal struggle for a few seconds, and then finally managed an indecipherable mumble. Hagrid began to open his mouth in question, but then Malfoy straightened up and looked Hagrid in the eye. He quickly stepped back, not expecting to see the hostility there and dropped his gaze, but spoke clearly:

"I would like to extend my deepest apologies, concerning the unfortunate incident in my third year - I'm sure you remember - um - Buckbeak?"

"Yer apologisin'?" Hagrid looked more confused than ever, and looked to Harry for help.

"Er." Harry said. He couldn't go along with the plan and tell Hagrid that he was spying on Malfoy with the other boy clearly standing within earshot. He quickly thought of an excuse.

"Malfoy and I," he tried not to screw up his face at that statement "are trying for a truce. You know - " he explained at the disbelieving look on Hagrid's face "after Dumbledore's advice at the start of term?"

Hagrid didn't look any less confused, Harry's statement only added a few worry lines to his expression. He looked at Malfoy distrustfully

"Aright then," he said slowly, "It's good of you ter come by an say that. 'Arry - will ye be comin' in fer a plate of rock cakes? Just out the oven they are."

Harry tried not to laugh at the disgruntled look on Malfoy's face. He clearly wasn't used to being treated like this. He couldn't decide whether to prevail upon Hagrid to let them both in or to just let him walk back alone so that he could have a good laugh with Hagrid over the whole situation. Malfoy looked over at Harry and seemed to realise the thought process he was going through. He quickly turned to the half-giant, not recoiling from meeting his eyes this time.

"Professor Hagrid - I realise that up until now we haven't exactly been on good terms. However this year I intend to change, and I feel that I need to tell you that my apology was sincere, and further, I would also like to apologise for my behaviour in your class in the past." At this, Harry stifled a snigger with a cough. This was priceless. The strained expression on Malfoy's face as he spoke was enough to keep Harry in a cheerful mood for weeks.

"I'm trying to make an effort to smooth things over with Harry here, and of course it's early days yet, but so far I'm not having anything near equal success with the other Gryffindors. I was hoping that I might have more success with yourself - it was Harry's idea of course,"

Harry stared at Malfoy, hoping he wouldn't try to embarrass him next to get him back for this. Hagrid continued to stare, dumbfounded.

"Harry thought that you might be more accepting than the Gryffindors and he suggested that I accompany him today, to try and get to know you a little better. Of course ," Malfoy continued after pausing for a few seconds "I wouldn't like to presume-"

"No no," Hagrid said gruffly, standing aside "Come on in then, the two of ye, if ye must."

The two boys walked into the cabin, Harry making sure to act relaxed and at home, enjoying watching Malfoy trying to look pleased to be invited in. However when Hagrid turned his back to put the kettle on the fire, Malfoy surreptitiously wiped his seat with a handkerchief before taking his place at the table beside Harry.

"None of that!" Harry whispered angrily. Malfoy slumped in his chair, looking irritated.

"Aright there Malfoy?" Hagrid said, placing a giant mug in front of him with a thud

"Yes thank you Professor Hagrid," Malfoy straightened up, then clearly casting around for something to say, added "How have your classes been this year, so far?"

Hagrid looked amused "Thev've been good enough. Better now that you're not in em to tell the truth' !" he chuckled.

"Er…" Malfoy flushed "I'm sure that's true." he attempted to join in the humour and forced a smile on his face "I've never been an animal person myself - I never had the chance to be around them much before I started school. "

Malfoy's mother had done a sterling job in tutoring little Draco in small talk, Harry observed.

"Ye didn't have any pets?" Hagrid suddenly looked a little sympathetic.

"Well no, I didn't" Malfoy said, and then there was an awkward pause "Actually Pansy - you know Pansy Parkinson?" Hagrid nodded "she found a cat in the Manor grounds once. We brought it food every day for a week or so."

There was a waiting silence as Malfoy looked unwilling to continue

"It was fun, I suppose, to play with it. We were eight or so, I think." he continued lamely.

"What happened to it?" Harry prompted.

Malfoy looked uncertainly at Hagrid and looked as if he was searching for words "Er-"

"Did she pass away? " Hagrid said softly, looking tearful

"Well - yes. I - she did pass away, yes."

"How did it happen?"

Malfoy looked very nervous as he spoke "Father - ah - disposed of it. It was a muggle cat you see - had a collar with an address on it."

"He WHAT?!" Hagrid bellowed, and Malfoy stumbled out of his chair, terrified, his dignified demeanor wiped away in a flash.

"I didn't want him to!" he whimpered, backing towards the door "He saw us feeding it kippers from breakfast on the lawn!"

Harry covered his laugh with his hand and tried to turn it into a cough.

_What do you know, Malfoy hates Hagrid because he's afraid of him!_

"Sit down." Hagrid gestured towards the chair breathing heavily "I wasn't angry at you, Malfoy, its just tha, well people like that deserve - well I'll say no more." He eyed Malfoy as he stumbled back into his chair, but not before pulling it closer to the door.

"Have a rock cake." he pushed the plate towards Malfoy, who blanched. Harry glared at him and he quickly mumbled.

"I hope you'll excuse me, but I have to refuse," Malfoy was looking everywhere except where Hagrid stood "I have a delicate stomach. But they look delicious." he added quickly

"I'll have one - thanks Hagrid!" Harry said, grinning widely at Malfoy's terrified figure. He soon regretted his boastful behaviour however after his teeth crunched alarmingly when he attempted to take a bite. He tried dipping it in his tea to soften it.

"How's life ben then, eh Harry?" Hagrid attempted to restart the conversation as Malfoy sipped his tea tentatively.

Harry searched for an appropriate topic "Well we had quidditch tryouts on Friday…."

…ooo000ooo…

"I hope you have had an enjoyable week since I last saw you?" Dumbledore asked. "Professor Slughorn tells me that your potions marks have improved impressively." He had a twinkle in his eye as he said this.

"Yes thanks, sir." Harry said, trying not to sound stiff and cold. Again he was fighting the urge to confront the headmaster but his enthusiasm to do so was at least curbed by the fact that he smelled strongly of Mrs Skower's Lemony Fresh Odour-Gone and he doubted he would be taken seriously.

His eyes flitted from the desk to the bookshelves behind the headmaster; he couldn't bring himself to look him in the eye, not after all his ill thoughts toward him. "Professor Slughorn is a really helpful teacher."

"Very good, very good…"

Harry had bit back a further comment involving Snape's teaching abilities; he just wanted his second session with Dumbledore over with has soon as possible, and it was true after all that Professor Slughorn was much more inclined to give helpful pointers to his students than Snape had been.

"And I hear you have been attending your detentions for Professor Snape too?"

"Yes sir." Harry gritted his teeth. For his detention today, Filch had had him freshening up the stairs leading to the seventh floor; apparently some stupid first years had let off extra-long lasting dung bombs there. Once he had finished, the stairs had smelled of fresh citrus but Harry had smelled of dragon dung. Badly. However, having little time before his meeting with Dumbledore, he had had to douse himself in Mr's Skower's concoction and now he was in an extremely bad mood because it was giving him a headache.

"Very good Harry." he smiled "Now I imagine you're wondering what memories we'll be viewing tonight?"

Harry sat quietly through Dumbledore's explanations of the memory he was about to witness, hoping the headmaster would not notice that anything was amiss. He had been thinking about how he should act towards the headmaster since he had received his second invitation over a week ago. Until he had arrived outside the office door, Harry had been eager to give Dumbledore a piece of his mind, even hoping for the old professor to ask him if he was alright so that he could tell him that he was tired of being treated like an object instead of a person with feelings, and that he had a right to know information that affected his life.

However now Harry would much rather keep his thoughts to himself, and not just because of his fruity odour. Partly he was frightened that Dumbledore would explain away all of his accusations, leaving him with worrying but unfounded misgivings, so he wanted to wait for hard evidence before he said anything. Also, the more Dumbledore spoke, the more Harry couldn't help feeling that Dumbledore had no right to know where Harry's loyalties lay. Why, for once, couldn't his loyalty be to himself? There was no point in making enemies where he didn't need to. If Harry wanted the information Dumbledore had, he was unlikely to obtain it as an enemy.

And so it was with a mask of polite indifference that Harry watched the young Tom Riddle find his wildest hopes and dreams confirmed and then, confident and independent even at the tender age of eleven, assert that he needed no help, no company or assistance to make his way in the world.

Harry wondered what his life would be like now, if he too had been less keen to allow other people to have such a hold on him.

23


	8. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I don't own HP and I don't make money from writing this fic._

After the Hagrid incident Malfoy didn't seek out Harry for days, during which time Harry reflected that perhaps their deal wouldn't turn out so bad after all - as long as Malfoy kept his language civil and continued to attempt to be a 'good guy' the results looked likely to be more amusing than anything.

At the moment, Harry was more occupied with the memories Dumbledore had shared with him, and when their next meeting would be. It had been almost two weeks since their last one, and he was beginning to wonder if Dumbledore had somehow picked up on Harry's feelings towards him. He had shared his worries with Hermione, and they had picked over the memory of the child Tom Riddle in detail, and when he mentioned that Dumbledore was yet to schedule another 'lesson' she had pointed out that he had rarely even been in the Great Hall at mealtimes recently.

He wondered where he was going; was it something to do with the Order? Now that there were more deaths and muggle tortures being reported in the Daily Prophet, Dumbledore was bound to have more responsibilities associated with the Order of the Phoenix, and it couldn't be easy juggling them with his responsibilities as headmaster. However when he emerged from his reverie to ask Hermione her opinion she was clearing up her books and as he opened his mouth she announced that she was off to the library.

Harry felt a flash of irritation at Hermione. Didn't she care about where Dumbledore was going? Before, whenever he had suspicions about something going on in or outside Hogwarts he, Ron and Hermione would pool their knowledge and talk about it constantly. But he wasn't speaking to Ron and Hermione only showed a limited amount of interest before changing the subject or heading to the library.

Hermione had been unusually preoccupied since the beginning of term, disappearing off to the library whenever she had free time, and Ron had taken to spending all his time with Seamus and Dean huddled in a corner muttering, writing up what looked like lists, and above all, ignoring Harry.

The result of this was that Harry was left quite alone when he wasn't in classes or at lunch, and even then he rarely spoke to Hermione, who at lunchtimes kept such a close eye on the Slytherin table that Harry began to get irritated at her excessive suspicion against Malfoy. Surely she didn't need to watch him eat?

Also, due to the inter-house pairing in classes, again Harry found himself separated from her, and was feeling increasingly resentful. He spent time with Neville outside of class when she wasn't around, but that too just wasn't the same as his old friends.

On Saturday morning Harry couldn't take any more. Once again Hermione had disappeared, and he'd been so bored he'd finished all his homework already. It was just after lunchtime, and he was supposed to be helping Neville with his potions homework, but finally after catching him staring over at Ron for the third time, the other boy finally exasperatedly said

"Harry, just go and talk to him!" and gathered up his homework, heading in the direction of Ginny who was reading quietly by the fire.

Bored, companionless and missing Ron's company, he headed over to the chair where he could see Seamus's tousled hair peeping over the back. As he came closer, Ron came into view. He looked curiously over their shoulders. In Dean's miniscule, loopy handwriting was an extremely long list of illegible items. In fact, the roll of parchment was hanging off the side of the table and onto the floor.

"Oy!" Seamus exclaimed suddenly, whipping around as Harry began to move towards a chair "That's confidential!" he hoisted the parchment off the floor, gathering it to his chest defensively. Ron, alerted to Harry's presence, folded his arms and glared at him.

"Sorry." Harry said "I just wanted to talk to Ron."

"Talk away!" Ron snapped, turning away.

"Um - " Harry couldn't help feeling he had already lost this battle "I wanted to apologise. I

was hoping -"

"That we could be friends again?" Ron cut in sarcastically, his expression cold "I take it you've ditched _him_ then?"

"Ron -" Harry sighed, then attempted a diplomatic tone again "No I haven't - but can't you-"

"No I can't." Ron said shortly "Now leave. We have plans to make."

Harry didn't even bother arguing. There was no point, with Ron in this mood. He turned around sharply and left, heading for the dormitories. He couldn't decide whether to be angry or depressed. He'd been hoping to persuade Ron to join him for a fly around the grounds, perhaps a quick game of quidditch, just the two of them. He was tired of studying or sitting around with Neville. The next Gryffindor team practice was days away and he just needed to expend some energy.

When he reached his bed, he couldn't bring himself to flop down onto the mattress. It was the middle of the day and he felt incredibly tense. Making up his mind, he grabbed his broom up from against his bedpost - he was going flying, even if he had to go alone.

…ooo000ooo…

"Bugger off." Harry walked faster, clutching his broom tightly as Malfoy approached him

"I was only-"

"I don't feel like talking to you. Bugger off." Harry repeated, running down the entrance steps. For a moment there was no reply, then he heard the clatter of shoes follow him down the steps, and he wheeled on Malfoy

"Look, I'm bloody serious, alright!" he snapped

"Well fuck you," Malfoy said calmly "I'm coming anyway. We had an agreement, and I've barely bothered you at all-"

"Well this stupid agreement has cost me Ron!" Harry snapped, storming away again

"What happened?" Draco asked, jogging to keep up

"None of your -"

"Of course it's my business, if you're treating me like shit for it!"

Harry chose to remain silent.

"Wha-"

But Draco's words were swept away by the wind as Harry, unable to take anymore, leapt on his Firebolt and flew upwards, as far away from Draco as he could get.

He only had a few minutes respite; he did a lightening-fast circuit of the lake, and was just returning to the quidditch pitch area after zooming around the astronomy tower when he heard Draco's voice call out from behind him.

"Well that was rude!"

Harry gritted his teeth and turned about. Draco was zooming behind him on his Nimbus and grinning at him, that was enough to make Harry disconcerted, but then a quaffle was suddenly zooming straight for his head, and he quickly grabbed it out of the air.

"What do you think you're-"

"Oh lighten up Potter and chuck it back!"

Harry shot the quaffle straight at Malfoy's forehead as hard as he could. Unfortunately it was caught securely.

"So," Malfoy said, throwing the quaffle again "What happened with Weasley?"

Harry didn't answer

"Oh come one, it's a simple ques-"

"Nothing happened! It's none of your business! " he threw the quaffle as far as he could in the opposite direction of Malfoy, and watched smugly as the Slytherin raced over to retrieve it.

"Fine then." he said calmly when he returned "What else do you want to talk about?"

Harry ignored him and flew away, but Malfoy was soon on his tail.

"So what do you think Gryffindor's chances are in the match against Huffelp-_argh_!"

Harry had suddenly swerved around, and Malfoy had nearly fallen off his broom trying to avoid getting hit.

"Malfoy." he spat, squeezing his eyes shut tightly in the effort to refrain from shouting. "Just. Leave. Me. Alone."

_BOOF._

"Aah - what the -!" Harry's eyes flew open and his hand flew to his forehead where something had struck him hard. He glared at Malfoy, who was hovering a few feet away, glaring right back at him. Between them, the Quaffle, which Malfoy had bounced off his forehead, slowly sank through the air, down towards the pitch.

"I'm just trying to have a civil conversation!" Malfoy snapped "Why are you such an arrogant bastard? You're not keeping to our deal!"

"_I_'_m _an arrogant -?"

"Not once have you approached me! You're _supposed _to be helping me, but not only are you refusing to, you're being unreasonably rude to me every time-"

"You're not exactly being pleasant either!"

"Oh yeah?" Malfoy snarled "And what have I done then?"

Harry hesitated and Malfoy sneered triumphantly

"See! So far I've approached you in public twice, and not only that, but I even made an effort with that Hagrid beast! What have you done?"

"Why can't you approach me when I'm in a good mood? Haven't I made it obvious I want to be alone?"

"Oh well I'm so sorry! I hadn't realised you expected me to be a mind reader!"

There was a long silence as Harry realised that Malfoy really had done nothing to deserve his rudeness. At least, not recently.

"Alright then, I'm sorry!" he snapped "But next time can we _organise _this, instead of you just turning up?"

"Fine." Malfoy snapped "When then?"

"I dunno. Do I have to decide now? Tomorrow then, same time." he improvised quickly, seeing Malfoy's mouth open to protest.

"Fine." Malfoy turned on his broom an sped to the ground and Harry watched him until he emerged from stowing his broom in the changing rooms, then followed him and immediately changed the password on Malfoy's broom locker to _parsnips _using the piece of parchment Draco had given him, which he probably didn't even remember now_._

…ooo000ooo…

Hermione headed to the library, filled with anticipation. Sometimes she couldn't believe she had spent six years of her life wrapped up in Harry and Ron's problems. She did feel guilty about avoiding joining Harry for stewing sessions over his feelings for Dumbledore, but she couldn't help wanting to be selfish for once now that she had found some happiness. She was also glad that so far she had managed to avoid both Ron and talking or meeting with Malfoy completely. She felt guilty that she had told Harry point blank that she wouldn't have anything to do with Malfoy; now he seemed too uncomfortable to even bring up the subject with her, but truth be told she wasn't even interested in how their meetings had gone, but she did know that it hadn't gone well so far, and she only hoped that Harry would come to his senses soon.

She quickly smothered the idea that occurred to her; that if Harry was in trouble she was making it hard for him to talk to her about it.

She was avoiding Ron because she was afraid of him finding out about Theo, especially after his reaction to the Malfoy situation. Part of her wanted to shout it from the rooftops to make Ron jealous; _Yes, I have a Slytherin friend. What are you going to do about it, it's not as if you've acted interested in me at all!_

She quashed the slither of worry that had been burrowing inside her mind since the conversation between Harry and Malfoy. It wasn't just that Theo was a Slytherin, but that his father wanted him to be a Death Eater when he was of age. Did Theo know, if he didn't see his father in person anymore? _He must do_, she reasoned, _if Malfoy knows_.

Why hadn't he told her then? Because he had no intention of following his father's path? Or was that just wishful thinking? But then again he was spending a lot of time with Hermione, and that wasn't exactly something a prospective Death Eater would do.

Unfortunately this wasn't something she could just ask him about, she didn't know him well enough to talk about what would probably be a sensitive subject. For now she'd just have to go with her instincts and just be careful.

Part of her kept pointing out that after this business with Theo she could hardly fault Harry for making peace with Malfoy, but this was different. Draco's father actually lived with him and Draco had always made a show of supporting his father's political views, and not only that but Malfoy had been personally extremely nasty to herself, Harry and Ron.

Theo on the other hand had never sought out trouble or aired pro-Voldemort or anti-muggle views, in fact he demonstrated the opposite just by being so friendly with her. He couldn't choose his father, nor could he help what house he was in.

In any case, she brought her mind back to its initial worry, she couldn't exactly gloat about a _friend, _even if it would upset Ron. She had developed deeper feelings for Theo and hoped he felt the same, but she couldn't really justify excitedly telling everyone she had a new friend, even if she wanted to. She would sound incredibly pathetic, even for her.

Ron had disappointed her; not once had he sought her out, he _still _had barely spoken to her this term. So what if she hadn't made an effort to talk? Neither did he, and up until now it was always she who had made an effort to make Ron like her! He couldn't even be bothered to ask her to the Yule Ball in fourth year, not even as a friend! He had left her as a clearly undesirable last resort and had never made it up to her. He had actually dared to do even worse, souring her relationship with Victor. This still upset her, even if she had always known she and Victor would never be a lasting item. They were just too different.

"Hi Hermione!"

She felt a grin spread over her face when she heard her name being called as she entered the library. She hurried over to the usual corner desk that she shared with Theo.

"Hi Theo!" she said enthusiastically as she took her seat "How are you?"

"Great!" he replied with a wide grin "And look what I have for you!" he ducked down under the desk to retrieve his book bag, his wispy flyaway curls bobbing and floating mysteriously as he moved.

"Wizarding novels!" he proclaimed, laying a short stack of books in front of Hermione, who stifled a squeal "I remembered you saying how hard it was to find any decent ones, so I asked mother to send me some of my favourites for you. I think she's added a few of _her _favourites too." he added ruefully as Hermione began leafing through a book with a cover depicting a swooning witch in the arms of a muscular warlock.

"Oh wow! Theo this is…" she trailed off as she lifted another book out of the pile "J.K. Rowling? That name sounds familiar…"

"Well anyway," Theo continued "Keep those books as long as you want, I hardly ever read them anymore."

"Theo, this is really good of you! Thank you so much, I can't wait to get reading!" Her pulse was actually racing - was that a copy of the wizard version of _King Arthur_? It would be so fascinating to find out the way wizards depicted Merlin!

"It's no trouble," Theo's mismatched eyes danced with suppressed laughter at her eager face "but I hope you can hold on long enough to give me a hand with my ancient runes homework?"

…ooo000ooo…

On Thursday evening after dinner, Harry received a rather vicious-looking eagle owl with a letter written in elegant handwriting clutched in it's beak as he entered his dormitory. He cautiously retrieved the note and backed away hurriedly as the eagle owl squawked and flapped its wings.

_Potter,_

_Urquhart (our captain) has organised a Slytherin team practise tonight, so I need to postpone our meeting until 8pm at least. Can you still make it?_

_Draco Malfoy_

Harry thought about telling Malfoy that eight o'clock was too late, and they would have to meet tomorrow night, or perhaps even this weekend as he was far too busy. Then he remembered he had Quidditch practice for the Hufflepuff match every night until Saturday and in the end decided to get it all over with quickly and scribbled a grudging 'yes' on the back of the parchment. He attached it to the owl, minding his fingers and stepped back again as it took off with one last aggressive squawk.

He took his time with his dinner, not looking forward to the detention that he had to get through before he met Malfoy down at the pitch. Hermione once again gulped down her dinner and sped off to the library in a rush, and Harry saw Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin team leave for the pitch not long after. He supposed the new captain, Urquhart or whatever his name was, must be quite enthusiastic, because none of the team seemed to have finished eating, and all looked rather grumpy at leaving their dinner half finished.

He was just starting on his rhubarb crumble and custard when someone slammed into the seat beside him, and the entire Gryffindor table hushed. Harry looked up, wondering if Snape had descended and was shocked to see Malfoy there looking sweaty, out of breath, and most of all, furious.

"I can't get my broom!" Malfoy whispered furiously, staring around at all the Gryffindors, his face suddenly growing pinker. Harry suspected he hadn't realised that he had just sat down at the Gryffindor table, so intent on rushing over to speak to Harry.

"Oh. Yeah, I changed the password." Harry remembered

"_Now_?" Malfoy muttered, looking intimidated as the Gryffindors glared at him "Why didn't you tell me! I just had to run from the pitch! I told Urquhart I'd forgotten the password - you idiot! And now look, you've made me make a fool of myself, coming here!"

Harry grinned. He enjoyed having something over on Malfoy.

"Shall I come down and get your broom for you?"

"Potter!" Malfoy growled "Just tell me the password!"

"We had a deal." Harry said cheerfully, watching Colin Creevey raising his camera to immortalise the moment on film.

"Potter!" Malfoy looked desperate, already half out of his seat again in order to get away from the hostile Gryffindors "_Please!" _he muttered

"What was that, Malfoy?" Harry said loudly, holding his hand up to his ear. Now the nearby Hufflepuff table was also silent, having heard Harry's voice and noticing the silence around him.

Malfoy look mutinous, but then after a moment, he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Please."

Some of the nearby Gryffindors tittered, but the Hufflepuffs all looked mystified. Harry gestured over to them

"I don't think the Hufflepuffs heard y-"

"I said PLEASE!" Malfoy snapped, and then all the Hufflepuffs burst into laughter as the Gryffindors clapped and cheered and a camera flashed.

"Parsnips." Harry said calmly to Malfoy

"_Parsnips?!_" Malfoy said incredulously, his hands curling into fists.

"That's right."

Malfoy stood up roughly, muttering viciously and stalked off.

Harry had fully expected Malfoy to refuse to meet him after practise after what he had done at dinner, but to his surprise, he walked over to meet Harry in the stands as the rest of the Slytherins left the pitch, staring curiously after him, and few of them jeering at Harry.

Also surprisingly, Malfoy didn't appear angry at Harry any longer. Instead he asked him;

"Are we even now?"

"Even? For what?"

"For everything I've ever done to annoy you. That you didn't get me back for already anyway."

Harry shrugged "Whatever. It was funny, anyway."

Malfoy didn't even look annoyed. "How was your detention with Snape?"

"Horrible." Harry growled. As he had just spent an hour of disecting frogs for Snape's personal stores, he was twice as touchy at the slightest mention of the professor. The only positive way of looking at it was that he had a break from cleaning with Filch, who had come down with Dragon Pox earlier in the week.

"Are you going to tell me what happened with you and Weasley yesterday then?" Malfoy asked, standing and moving towards the pitch

"What's up with you?" Harry asked suspiciously "You aren't even annoyed about what I did."

Malfoy shrugged "I asked Pansy what I should do yesterday. I told her how you're always angry at me, and she said I just needed to let you get it out of your system."

"Er - right." Harry wasn't sure what to say, so he just followed Malfoy over to the kit box which the Slytherins had left on the field. Since when was Pansy Parkinson an expert on the way his mind worked? And more importantly, how much of Malfoy's plan did she know?

"Which is why we won't be messing around with a quaffle today!" Malfoy said enthusiastically, bending to open the kit box and chucking Harry a beater's bat. He took one for himself, and when Harry returned from the changing rooms with his Firebolt, he was standing by the kit box, repeatedly batting away both the bludgers.

For around twenty minutes, Harry and Malfoy sped around the pitch, beating bludgers at one another. Harry welcomed the opportunity to hurt Malfoy, and wondered if Draco thought that Harry felt more at ease now that they were doing something they both enjoyed together - even if it involved hurting each other. Finally, battered and bruised, they eventually returned to tamely tossing the quaffle back and forth and Harry gave in after the fifth time Malfoy repeated his question and told him about what had happened with Ron. After all, he had to give something if he wanted Malfoy to trust _him_.

"Ron's not talking to me. At all."

"Oh. Because of the fight in the library?" Malfoy questioned.

Harry nodded, lobbing the quaffle.

"Just because you agreed to our deal?"

"Yeah. But mostly because I didn't take his side."

"Well," snorted Malfoy "I don't see why that's a shock."

"You watch your mouth!" Harry snapped

"Only saying," Malfoy continued "He's hardly an epitome of reasoned argument." he passed back the quaffle.

Despite his continued loyalty to Ron, Harry had to force away a grin as he caught it

For a while he and Malfoy simply flew around the pitch, passing the quaffle back and forth.

"Say," said Malfoy finally when they both were flying around in complete darkness "Do you fancy comparing Seeker abilities?"

Harry didn't bother stifling a snort

"No offence Malfoy, but I could beat you any day, even in the dark."

Malfoy rolled his eyes "And everyone says you're so humble!"

"At least they don't call me vain!" Harry shot back

"Nothing wrong with wanting to look good!" Malfoy replied good-naturedly "I would have thought you'd understand that now - I heard Finnigan complaining that you spend ages doing your hair every morning!"

"Shut it." Harry replied, and they both sped down to the ball box to release the snitch. They stood for a while, giving the snitch a chance to get away.

"This isn't so bad, is it?" Malfoy enquired, giving Harry a sidelong glance

"I'd rather be with Ron, truthfully." Harry replied

"And I'd rather be with Pansy," Draco said, then frowned "No I wouldn't. Never mind. But that wasn't what I asked."

"What's wrong with Pansy?" Harry asked, ignoring the question again

Draco gave him a knowing glance "You know girls," he said mysteriously "There's some times when they're better avoided."

"Er-right." Harry said, mystified

Draco looked amused "You have no idea what I'm on about, do you?"

Harry felt irritated at Malfoy "No I don't." he snapped

"Aren't there times when Hermione gets a bit … what's the word I'm looking for… nagging, tetchy, irritating?" at Harry's confused glance, he exasperatedly added "Certain times of the month?"

"Oh." Harry said, embarrassed.

"Well you've seen Pansy," Draco continued, still smirking slightly at Harry's slowness "Clingy, bitchy, demanding?"

"Yeah." Harry said cautiously, confused at Malfoy's attitude towards his own girlfriend

"Well at times like this, it's even worse. '_Draco_!'" he suddenly broke into a high pitched voice, making Harry jump slightly "_Draco! Why didn't you sit beside me at dinner? Where were you? Who were you with? What colour socks were you wearing?_"

Harry stared at Malfoy, taken aback.

"And then," Draco continued "She - ah well you've seen her at it, who hasn't? She drapes herself all over me as usual." Draco was now using rather violet hand gestures "Doesn't care where we are. In the common room, in the hall - even in bloody Flitwick's class once! And I can't shift her - not when she's like that, I'll get an earful in front of everyone!"

Malfoy lapsed into silence, shaking his head. Suddenly he became aware of the silent reception he was receiving. He turned to see Harry shaking with silent laughter.

"What?" he demanded, his cheeks getting a slight pink tinge

"Do -do-" Harry rocked back and forth, buckled with laughter "Do that - that voice again!"

"Fuck off." Malfoy muttered, embarrassed and hopped on his Nimbus, taking off and disappearing into the night. Harry remained, chuckling to himself as he mounted his Firebolt.

"No." Harry said to no one in particular, still grinning "This really isn't so bad."

…ooo000ooo…

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_Regarding your parents last will and testament, unfortunately we are unable to send you a copy of the documents without proof of your identity as these are highly confidential documents to be viewed only by those named in the will or with the express permission of the Ministry of Magic. Usually we ask that your proof is in the form of your Gringotts key. In your case you may do so by including your magical signature. (This may be done by pointing your wand at the parchment and speaking 'signo'.)_

_As per your request for confidentiality, we require your permission to request the return of the key from Professor Dumbledore. _

_This should also answer your second request. If you intend to take your financial matters into your own hands, we recommend that you look over a summary of your assets. This can be obtained by request by owl, again you should either enclose your key as proof of identity, or if you require the information sooner, again you may use your magical signature._

_If you would like Gringotts to reclaim your key on your behalf, please include permission in your next owl. We will, of course, not give out any personal information to Professor Dumbledore. The letter we will send will only contain a short request that he return your vault key to Gringotts. There will be no additional information in the letter. You may request that your key be sent by post if you include your magical signature as proof of identity in your letter._

_It is Gringotts' duty to inform you that if Professor Dumbledore had taken your key from you without your permission, or is keeping it against your will, you would be within your rights to raise a legal case. In this instance, you may contact us for a list of recommended lawyers._

_Thank you for your custom,_

_Burtlakk Grimstone_

_Head Goblin, Gringotts_

Harry read the letter twice before he thought about its contents. His first thought was surprise that he might be able to sue Dumbledore. Of course, he hadn't asked for his key back, so he supposed it wasn't being kept from him against his will.

He sucked on the end of his quill before writing a reply.

_Dear Mr Grimstone,_

_Thank you for replying to my letter. I give my permission for Gringotts to reclaim my key. I have included my magical signature. Please do go ahead and forward the documents to me._

_Your sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

He pointed his wand at the parchment.

"Signo."

The parchment turned a bright white for a second, then faded back to it's usual yellow.

…ooo000ooo…

After the match against Hufflepuff that Saturday, Harry met up with Malfoy on the Quidditch pitch several more times in the next two weeks, both boys having decided it was the easiest and least intrusive way to spend time together as well as good practice for their next matches. Harry found himself both dreading and looking forward to the sessions. With Hermione constantly holed up in the library, and Ron making mysterious plans with Dean and Seamus, he wasn't getting in either of their ways by being at the quidditch pitch, and it also meant that he finally had something to do other than study alone in the common room. However Harry found himself searching his memory after each time, furiously trying to figure out how to deal with Draco next time. Had Harry said too much? So far, nothing that should have remained secret had been mentioned, but Harry was constantly on guard, determined not to let Malfoy under his defences. They discussed nothing apart from trivial goings-on around the school, classes and Quidditch. Malfoy spoke of his friends occasionally, but Harry only brought up Ron and Hermione to impress on Malfoy the sacrifice he was making when he could be spending time with Hermione, or that he might still be friends with Ron if it weren't for him.

That they only met down at the quidditch pitch also meant he hadn't yet had to make up excuses for his new flying partner to the other Gryffindors. The cold November weather usually ensured that the only other visitors to the quidditch pitch were the house teams practising for their upcoming matches. Although gaining Dumbledore's attention was exactly the reason Malfoy was with Harry in the first place, the Slytherin was quite happy keeping things quiet for now; they needed to be certain that things would work out before letting the rest of the school into things, even with the excuse of spying on Harry.

Although a part of Harry knew that the sooner Malfoy followed through with his promise to announce his new loyalties to the school, the sooner he could stop worrying about people seeing them together, he also didn't like the idea of having to spend time with Malfoy publicly. He was sure he would face questions from the other Gryffindors and possibly even hostility, even if it would look like it was Harry who had tamed Malfoy, not the other way round. Malfoy wasn't worth that, and despite the fact that he had discovered that he could be a laugh at times, he couldn't bear the thought that he might be left entirely without friends or allies apart from Draco Malfoy. _I bet that__'__s part of his plan__…_Harry found himself thinking more than once as he pondered this eventuality.

Apart from his pitiful voice impressions, Draco could be a remarkable actor and an impressive liar when he really put his mind to it, skills which worried Harry somewhat when he stopped to consider it. When he was extremely angry, worried or upset, Malfoy's face would remain completely blank, a skill that Harry wished he had too.

However Harry soon found himself distracted from the Malfoy situation when the reason for Ron's furtive planning suddenly came to light.

"Pssst! Harry!"

The lights in the Gryffindor common room had been dimmed due to the late hour, and Harry was dozing in the armchair closest to the fire. He was extraordinarily comfortable and felt a twinge of annoyance as the whisper came again.

"Harry!"

He opened his eyes blearily, reaching up to rub his eyes and adjust his glasses which had been slipping off the end of his nose.

"Hermione?" he croaked

"Sshh!" she hissed, dropping into the armchair beside his "I don't think Ron's seen me come over."

"What is it?" he whispered, sitting up and yawning.

"It's Ron!" her voice was low and furious "He's _up _to something!"

"Really?" Harry replied dryly "And there I thought all that muttering and note-taking in corners with Dean and Seamus was something completely innocent. Oh by the way-"

"Don't talk like that!" she interrupted sharply "You sound just like Malfoy!"

Harry ignored this, unwilling to get into an argument so late at night. "_Anyway_," he continued "I wanted to ask you what a magical signature was."

Hermione paused to frown while she consulted her inner library. "Every witch and wizard has a different magical signature." she began "It's like a magical alternative to DNA, although magical people have that too - I suppose they overlook it because a muggle discovered it." she sniffed disapprovingly "Anyway, a lot of legal documents ask for you to include your magical signature as well as a signed signature, as proof of identity, because no one else can copy it. Why do you want to know?"

"Gringotts wanted me to include a magical signature before they would send me my parents will."

"Well that makes sense." she nodded approvingly "They usually ask for your key, but as you don't have one your magical signature would be the only other option. They'd have to compare the signature with the one that the ministry hold to detect underage magic. It's a lot more bother for them, but as you don't have your key…"

"Right…I just wondered because I'd never heard of it before. Anyway, sorry - you were talking about Ron?

"Oh yes -" she leant forward eagerly "well he asked me how to do a secrecy charm this morning - where were you all day by the way, I couldn't find you anywhere?"

"Flying with Malfoy."

"At lunch and _all _evening?"

"No, we had lunch together by the lake." Harry replied, ignoring the odd look Hermione was giving him. "But anyway, why would Ron need a secrecy spell?"

"I don't know Harry but it worries me. He's been acting like Fred and George do when they're planning something - but more serious." she stopped to look at him seriously "He wanted me to teach him how to bind a secrecy spell to a piece of parchment."

"_What_?"

"Exactly, why would he want that? I've been thinking about it all day and I just can't think of what he could be planning."

"Can't you just ask him? I mean, you two are still talking, aren't you?"

Hermione looked uncomfortable "We _were, _but then I refused to tell him how to do the spell unless he told me how-"

"So you and Ron aren't talking either now." Harry sighed

"Who said that?" said a new voice suddenly, and Harry and Hermione flinched violently. They turned around to find Ron eyeing them suspiciously.

"Bit jumpy, aren't you?" he said, looking between them with narrowed eyes "Why were you saying we weren't talking?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Because I wouldn't show you how to do that spell." she said uncertainly, frowning when a smugly triumphant smirk appeared on his face.

"Well I found another way, so never mind. Here you go." Ron held out two slips of folded parchment to them.

"What will happen if I touch that?" Harry eyed his suspiciously.

"Nothing. Unless you try to talk about what's on it to a teacher. Then you'll sprout tentacles and talk and write in Mermish for the next eight hours, and you know what that sounds like." Ron looked extremely proud about this "Also, Mermish doesn't actually have a written form so it'll make it very hard for anyone to figure out what you're trying to tell them."

"Ron!" Hermione gasped "You can't put that kind of curse on someone without their knowledge, it's not right! What's this about?"

"Just a bit of harmless fun." Ron shrugged "And you're both invited, so what's the problem?"

"What's the -!?" Hermione started in a shrill voice, but Harry waved for silence.

"Does this mean we're talking now?" he said flatly.

Ron shrugged, turning "I don't know." he said, staring at Harry for a moment before turning and walking away.

Harry stared at his ex-friend's retreating back for a moment before a pinch from Hermione jolted him back to his senses.

"Harry," she waved her piece of parchment at him, her expression upset "read it!"

"Is it dangerous?" he said cautiously, looking at his parchment which was still sitting on the arm of the chair where Ron had left it.

"Just read it or I won't be able to talk to you about it!"

Reluctantly, Harry picked it up and felt it tingle against his fingers. He unfolded it and began to read.

_Ron Weasley invites you to attend the first ever All-Hogwarts party!_

_Be at the room opposite the tapestry of the dancing trolls on the seventh floor on the last Friday of this month._

_Your arrival time is:_

_7.48 pm_

_(This is a student-only event I won't be held responsible for anything that may or may not happen to anyone who tries to alert an adult to the party.)_

"A party?" Harry said, disbelievingly

"How can he!" Hermione was hissing angrily "This is breaking about a million school rules! I can't believe he-"

"Forget that!" Harry said urgently "He's handing these out to the whole of Hogwarts! Everyone will know about the room of requirement!"

"I don't think they will Harry," Hermione frowned, re-reading the invitation "I don't think he'll show them how to use the room, they'll just think it's a room they've never noticed before."

"Well I've finished my detentions, so at least I'll actually be able to go." Harry said, feeling cheerful. He hadn't thought he could take another day of spending his evenings scrubbing floors and dusting cobwebs.

"Harry! That's not the point! And I'm not sure that we should even go." Hermione said indignantly "Ron could be expelled if a teacher finds out about this!"

"We should go." Harry said firmly, raising a hand in anticipation of Hermione's objection "No listen, I need to make up with Ron and ignoring an invitation to his party is not a good way to start. But anyway - don't you think it'll be kind of obvious what's going on, once the whole school gets up from dinner and heads to the seventh floor?"

"No …" Hermione replied, pointing to her parchment "We've been given different arrival times - see, mine's 7.49 pm. I bet all the arrivals are staggered so that it won't be too noticeable.

"But why?" he wondered out loud "Why would he even want to do something like this?"

…ooo000ooo…

It was a rather windy evening, and the sky was beginning to grow dark, when Draco first mentioned making their 'friendship' public knowledge.

"Potter." Malfoy called as he touched down with the last bludger - once again they'd been dodging them for the last forty minutes, as well as pelting them at each other

"What?" Harry placed his bat back into the kit box and held his hand out for Draco to pass him his.

"I was thinking, maybe we should start talking a little in corridors, and in class?"

Harry considered this as he wrestled a bludger into its harness. He had expected this of course, but that didn't mean he had to look forward to it. The sooner it came out that he and Malfoy were friends, the sooner Malfoy could publicly denounce Voldemort, and then other people would be trust him more, and Harry would be a step further on the way to helping Malfoy out of his mess, because if people associated with the 'light' side were nicer to Draco, the more likely he was to be enticed to join it for real.

He didn't feel completely comfortable around Malfoy yet, and that was a good thing, but the question was, could he act as if they _were _friends? And did he want to? He couldn't stop his worry of being left with Malfoy as his only and not-quite friend surfacing, but quickly tried to dismiss it. _I__'__m only making excuses. I can__'__t help him more until he__'__s told everyone he__'__s against Voldemort, and this is the only way it__'__s going to happen._

"Are you sure?" Harry asked finally "I mean, you'll have to be careful. I won't condone you bullying people in front of me. It'll make me look bad, and no one would believe we were friends if I let you-"

"I'm not an idiot Potter, I think I can control my evil urges." Malfoy snorted, helping Harry buckle in the second bludger "So, what do you think then?"

"Okay…" he said slowly, unable to ignore the sense of foreboding that he was going to regret this "Any particular day, or - ?" he looked up at Draco questioningly

"Well, the first time people are going to talk, so we probably need to plan that." Draco straightened, letting Harry buckle the kit box shut, then reached down to grab a handle "But, after that I don't see why we shouldn't just start saying 'Hi' when we pass in the corridors."

Harry nodded, thinking as they carried the kit box back to the broom shed. It would be hard, at first, because people wouldn't understand why he was acting chummy with someone like Malfoy. And he couldn't help but wonder how this was going to affect things with Ron. He sighed. Ron wasn't his problem anymore, if he didn't want to make up, there was nothing he could do about it. He just had to hope that everyone else wouldn't follow his ex-friend's lead.

_Stop thinking that! _

"How about Herbology?" Harry suggested "We could walk down after lunch tomorrow?"

"Excellent." Draco nodded in approval "Should we work together?"

"Maybe not just yet." Harry said, not wanting to suddenly cut himself off from the rest of his house; no one would go near him in class if he was working with Malfoy. "It's a bit soon. Maybe another week."

…ooo000ooo…

It turned out that talking to Draco, between classes at least, didn't cause as much stir as Harry had expected.

The first time, as Malfoy had brazenly shouted "Hi Potter!" with a wave and a rather wooden smile in the midst of sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins, he'd left a wake of shocked students behind him, and Harry had hurried ahead after him to avoid the stares and whispers. The Slytherins looked particularly scandalised. Harry half wished they'd decided to work together in class; instead he had to put up with an endless barrage of questions from the other sixth year Gryffindors - all except Ron, who sat as far away from Harry as physically possible, studiously ignoring the commotion. Harry dropped hints about 'keeping an eye on the enemy' and they quietened down considerably, and across the greenhouse, he could see Draco answering similar questions. He could tell when he'd re-planted his own story of 'spying', because that was the moment that the Slytherins went back to their usual behaviour - shooting Harry disdainful, smug glares, and muttering among themselves.

Apart from that though, the most reaction they got was the confused stares of the younger students who knew of Harry and Malfoy's rivalry, and even then they didn't seem particularly interested.

However that was not true for certain students, namely the female ones. The news that the richest male student in Hogwarts were now on amicable terms with the most famous one was riveting news for almost every female student, and judging by the way they followed Harry and Draco in flocks between classes, they were eager for further gossip on the subject. Unbeknown to Harry, who didn't follow the trends that circulated in female circles, Draco had long been famed more for his looks and dark glamour than for his money, and Harry himself had shot up the list of those 'eligible' for the 'top spot', since his makeover. That the two figureheads for the opposing sides of Dark and Light were no longer enemies (indeed, some dared to whisper 'friends') was fuel for the fantasies for many girls, not the least Romilda Vane, who fast became the primary cause of Harry avoiding spending time in the Gryffindor common room alone. Harry had also taken to avoiding lingering in doorways or arches as, typical to the fast approaching holiday season, sprigs of mistletoe kept appearing above his head.

It was when Harry and Draco began talking and speaking in class the following week when the most amusing reactions occurred. Professor Sprout did a double take when she saw Harry assisting Draco subdue his Snargaluff stump, and Professor McGonagall actually clutched the table for support when Draco nodded cheerfully at Harry when he came in to deliver a note from Professor Sinistra.

In Defence however, Harry and Draco decided it was for the best to keep their new relationship quiet in that particular class, lest Harry be placed beside someone more unpleasant, like Pansy (although Harry didn't mention to Malfoy that was who he had in mind). Malfoy wasn't quite fast enough to hide his guilty expression when Harry told him he thought the Slytherin was just agreeing with him so that he wouldn't have to sit next to Ron or Hermione. Snape took to descending on Harry in class and asking the most ridiculously difficult questions. Harry was reasonably proud at being able to answer all of the NEWT-level questions; but this was the point where Snape began asking things which were so advanced that, shockingly, even Hermione's hand didn't even fly up in the air to answer some of them. At first, Harry was glad to see that Malfoy refrained from sniggering along with the rest of the Slytherins when this happened, and even maintained a blank expression.

The first time that Harry wondered if he was actually making headway with Malfoy occurred when the Slytherin began to scribble the answers to some of Snape's harder questions on the corner of his parchment for Harry to read. It didn't matter that these were usually answers to questions associated with dark magic, Harry was still left confused that Malfoy would help him against a professor who was a Death Eater, particularly Snape who he'd always tried to impress. Was Malfoy actually starting to like him, or was he still trying to win Harry over?

He managed to explain it away, reasoning that perhaps Malfoy was hoping Snape would notice and report back to Voldemort that he was making friends with Harry. Harry pinched himself, he had been feeling unduly grateful towards someone who was deceiving him - he couldn't let Malfoy fool him.

However he was left reeling when, one day during a particularly taxing class where Snape shot increasingly difficult and confusingly worded questions mingled with insults to Harry's father, Malfoy quietly commented"I don't know how you stand it. He really is a fucking slimy bastard towards you."

Harry could only stare in shock. Malfoy was shaking his head in disgust as he watched Snape lecture. He didn't sound as if his words were fabricated.

In contrast to DADA, Harry particularly enjoyed Potions these days. Slughorn beamed whenever he saw Malfoy and Harry together, apparently as the ex-head of Slytherin house, he had always desired more inter-house friendship. Also, Harry found Draco a great help when it came to catching up on potions - it was apparently Draco's best subject, and clearly Professor Snape had been more helpful towards his own house.

"I don't see why you can't sit with us." Pansy sniffed sulkily, looking disdainfully down her nose at Harry, before rounding on Draco again. Harry hid a smirk; something similar happened in every class they shared. Pansy was clingier than the giant squid when Hagrid hadn't fed it in a while, and he had started to notice the tell-tale signs of Draco's irritation.

When Pansy first approached Draco, he would usually ignore her; she would then proceed to 'drape herself' over him, whether it was a hand around his waist or full-scale sitting on his lap and snogging him. Harry would hurriedly turn away when this happened, feeling very uncomfortable.

Most of the time, Draco would shrug her off, unless she looked particularly moody. When this happened, he would start to fidget, his jaw jutting out sulkily as she continued talking or stroking his hair, or whatever she was doing. At his most annoyed, Harry had seen Draco tilting back in his chair, drumming his fingers on his desk and grinding his teeth furiously as Pansy wittered on about her dress for some upcoming family event, an arm around his neck.

"Why are you going out with her?" Harry asked bluntly one afternoon as they walked to potions. Pansy had just flounced off in a huff when Draco told her he didn't know or particularly care what colour robes he would be wearing on her birthday "I mean, you obviously can't stand her. You don't even pretend you like her half the time."

"We're engaged." Draco shrugged "And Pansy's alright. She's just irritating in public."

"You're _engaged_?" Harry was shocked.

"We're not formally engaged. It just means our parents expect us to marry when we leave school." Draco replied in a bored voice.

"So it's like an arranged marriage then?" Harry was surprised "That's a bit old fashioned. It must be awful. No offence." he added quickly; perhaps Malfoy did love Pansy, somewhere very deep inside.

"None taken. Welcome to pureblood society." Draco gave him a wry smile "But it's not so bad. Me and Pans are great friends, I'm just not a fan of her public persona."

"What? So she's acting when she's being irritating?"

"In a way…" Draco struggled to explain "She's grown used to acting like a bimbo. It's just how… how her mother taught her to act. Wisdom isn't supposed to be attractive in women, I suppose."

"But obviously you prefer it." Harry said, and Draco laughed.

"Of course. Pansy can be nice when she's not being … well to be honest, most of the time she's a snarky bitch, but we do actually get along when she's not trying so hard to be my girlfriend."

Draco sighed as they entered the Potions classroom. He rounded on Harry as they sank into their seats.

"Have you ever wanted to give Granger a good snog?"

"What - no!"

"Exactly!" Draco snapped a finger in Harry's face "She's a friend. Can't do it, it's like kissing your sister. Me and Pans are best friends, and sure we've experimented in the past, but I've grown out of it."

"No wonder she's so … irritating." Harry said "If you won't even kiss her."

"Oh she feels the same I'm sure." Draco said offhandedly "I mean, she's shagging Nott at the moment I think."

"She - Nott!?" Harry spluttered

"Yeah," Draco continued "It's fine, I don't mind. We've never done that together anyway, it'd feel weird. We date other people for that sort of stuff. Me and Pans are just a show."

As Harry continued to look confused he explained kindly

"It's pureblood society, Potter. Like I said, it's all a show."

Thought provoking question:

_Regulus Black. Give a brief summary of what you think his life was like._

Personally I think that Sirius was so busy trying to be a rebel that he left his little brother under a huge amount of pressure to be a 'real' Black. His brother was younger, and no doubt was still young enough to want to please his parents. Was there ever affection between the brothers? What do you think happened when Sirius came home from his first year at Hogwarts? I picture little Regulus trying to be a good son, and being hurt and frightened as Sirius lashes out at him for being a 'Dark Wizard'. After that a chasm would grow between the two, and maybe Regulus never wanted to be evil, but felt he had no place on the side of light. Do you think James and the Marauders bullied him like they did Snape?

24


	9. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don__'__t own the boy who lived. I don't own his Gringotts Vault either._

"Harry?"

Harry jumped in his armchair. It was late at night and he'd thought everyone was in bed, but apparently Hermione had just returned from somewhere. _Probably the library_, a Malfoy-like voice said in his head.

"Hermione, what were you doing out?" he asked curiously. It was after curfew and he'd never known Hermione to directly break rules.

Hermione's face grew a little pink. "I lost track of time." She sat in the armchair beside him. "It is only a few months until the exams!" she protested when Harry laughted "But anyway, I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Yeah?"

"Harry," she leant forward, concern on her face "how are things going with Malfoy? I feel like I haven't been there for you as much as I should have."

Harry shrugged. "I don't trust him - I'm not stupid. But as long as I'm careful I don't see the harm in helping him."

"As long as you're careful Harry." she looked nervous as she struggled to phrase her next question. "Are - are you sure you're being careful though?" she hurried to explain herself "It's just it's spooky Harry, seeing you with him, laughing and joking."

"I'm supposed to be pretending we're friends Hermione." he explained patiently

"But are you sure you aren't falling for his act - just a little bit?" she persisted, looking as if she expected Harry to blow up at her.

"I'm sure Hermione, stop worrying." he reassured her and gave her a smile.

She relaxed. "Fine then, as long as you keep on your guard. Just make sure you don't let him influence you Harry, and I mean that."

"What?"

"It's natural to pick up things from people around you Harry, but sometimes you talk like him."

"_What?" _Harry asked, feeling horrified

"Not in a big way," she reassured him 'just - you know, a sarcastic tone sometimes, where you wouldn't have used one before. It's not serious Harry, but you have to remember that he might be trying to change you - maybe make you more interested in the Dark Arts."

Harry's shoulders slumped in relief "Is that all it is? Look, don't worry, I'm not about to start practicing _crucio _on kittens, okay?" he gave her an encouraging smile and she looked a little more reassured.

"Just be careful, Harry."

…ooo000ooo…

""C'mon Hermione, we'll be late!" Harry muttered, and Hermione assumed a sullen expression that she hadn't used since she was seven and her father had caught her stealing the lollipops he gave out to children at his surgery.

"I don't see why we should be on time, or go at all!" she said grumpily "Goodness knows we'll be in so much trouble if we're caught, and Ron hasn't deigned _either _of us worthy of including in his plans!"

She ignored the wary look Harry gave her before beginning to walk faster. He always looked like that when she went into a rant, but it wasn't as if she didn't have cause.

Ever since she had decided that Ron might not exactly be boyfriend material and started pursuing Theo, there was always a small part of her that hoped Ron would prove her wrong. Not that she'd realised that until recently, but it was the only reason she could think of for feeling so let down and upset.

Yes, so she hadn't been paying much attention to him, but he had been doing the exact same to her since term began. He should have realised his error and desperately try to prove to Hermione that he did care. He wasn't supposed to completely forget about her and move on to new friends! Not only that, but he had been making secret plans with someone else, and for a _party__…_ and onethat was highly against school rules.

"How can he just expect us to turn up as if he hasn't been ignoring us!" she blurted out again as they reached the seventh floor, forgetting that Harry wasn't interested in her tirade.

"I dunno Hermione but I miss him. And aren't you curious?" Harry turned back to cock an eyebrow at her

"Curious? Harry, it's just going to be some kind of mass booze-up and I'll have to spend the whole night confiscating firewhiskey!"

_It would be just like Ron to turn a party into a chore for me__…_she thought furiously.

Harry stopped and turned around looking upset. "Hermione, whatever you do, don't do that. I know you're a prefect but I'm trying to patch things up with Ron and he's obviously put a lot of effort into this-"

"But Harry, if we're caught and I'm just standing by letting who-knows-what happen-!"

"Listen to me." Harry said firmly, his hand on the door knob of the room of requirement "Just relax and stop doing your duty. Let go and just have fun for once. For me, if not for Ron. It'll be the Christmas holidays soon, and then you can just forget this all ever happened. Please?"

Hermione bit her lip. She didn't want to agree. Why should she put herself on the line for Ron after all of this? But Harry was asking her, as a friend, and she couldn't really say no.

"Oh alright Harry." she sighed "I'd better not regret this."

Harry gave her a brilliant smile, one she hadn't seen for a long time.

"Thanks Hermione, I owe you."

Then he opened the door.

"_Muffliato_!"

For a moment, Harry stared around, bemused. Seamus and Dean stood at either side of the door, both had their wands raised. Beyond them a room the size of the great hall stretched out, half full of students chattering noisily above music with a pulsing beat.

"Sorry about that Harry, Hermione. Come in." Dean ushered them inside, closing the door behind them "We're trying not to let the noise out into the corridor or Filch might come running." he grinned.

"We're renewing the spell every time someone arrives." Seamus said, a silly grin on his face too. "Anyway, here's your firewhiskey, enjoy!" he handed them each a tiny glass of amber liquid.

Hermione looked furious, but Harry gave her a meaningful look and she settled for waving away her glass.

"Not for me, thank you." she said primly, making to walk on, but Seamus grabbed her arm.

"Hermione, you don't mind doing us a favour and checking on the younger students, do you?"

"What do you mean, 'checking on them'" she asked, eyes narrowed

"Well er…" Dean fidgeted nervously "Turns out we accidentally invited most of the younger students first and …"

"There was only two of us to monitor the drinks table." Seamus finished bluntly.

Harry froze as Hermione spun around to face him, her face livid.

"I told you Harry, I told you something like this would happen!" she whirled back around to Seamus and Dean "I should just walk out right now and report you all to Snape!"

"No! Don't!" Seamus waved his hands in apology, looking panicked. Then some thought seemed to occur to him and looking suspiciously relieved, he added "The curse is still on, you'll be talking in mermish for the rest of the night!"

Hermione didn't deign them with an answer, merely storming off in the direction of the crowd. Harry shrugged an apology and made to follow her, leaving Dean and Seamus heaving twin sighs of relief.

As Hermione charged into the crowd of children and began snatching bottles and issuing reprimands, Harry took a step back to admire Ron's handiwork.

He wasn't sure how much of the décor was Ron's handiwork and how much was down to the magic of the room of requirement, but the effect was still impressive.

The room itself was in the form of a huge hall, with ribbons and streamers in the colours of the four houses hung at regular intervals along the walls and strewn over the floor. There was nothing particularly outstanding about the decorations, but Harry supposed that had never been Ron's strong suit. The only thing that tugged at his curiosity was that there were several large balloons floating far above, bobbing against the ceiling, too high up to notice unless you were looking.

The Room of Requirement still looked a lot better than it had on the night of the Slytherin's party, but Harry supposed Ron had been planning this for longer.

If the decorations were meagre, the food on the tables placed against the walls was the extreme opposite, and here Harry was reassured that Ron had had input in the planning process. The tables almost buckled under hundreds and hundreds of eclectic dishes; apple pies, sausage rolls, éclairs, chocolate gateau, steak pies, custard tart, ice cream and jelly, jacket potatoes, doughnuts, marshmallows, sausages, fizzing whizzbees, crumpets, rice pudding, strawberries and cream, trifle, and bacon sandwiches and oddly, a plate of sprouts.

So engrossed was he in examining the mountains of sumptuous food in front of him, Harry jumped as a large crowd of students flocked past him and began picking at the buffet. Looking around, it seemed that many of the older students had decided to just arrive when their friends did, or when they felt like it. Over by the doors, Seamus was refusing to let in a burly seventh year girl who was arguing vociferously, while Dean had two fourth year boys in a headlock as he escorted them to the door.

"Their party planning leaves much to be desired, doesn't it?" came a familiar drawl and Harry turned to grin at Malfoy, who raised a glass of wine in greeting.

"When did you get here?" Harry asked, picking up a sausage from the buffet.

"Just arrived," Draco said "but of course my invitation said to get here promptly at 1am - obviously Weasley was hoping Filch would catch me after hours." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm surprised Ron invited you at all." Harry replied. Over at the door, Dean threw his hands in the air, cursing and let in a stream of Ravenclaws.

"It wouldn't be an all-Hogwarts part if everyone who hated Weasley wasn't invited," Draco said, sniggering, "It would just be a regular Gryffindor party."

"Lay off him." Harry said lightly as Malfoy made to walk off, but a grimace twisted Draco's mouth as they locked eyes, and Harry knew that Draco took the warning.

He hoped the party would be a success; maybe if Ron was in a good enough mood he would start talking to Harry again.

There seemed to be some kind of commotion coming from the drinks table, and Harry had almost forgotten about Hermione until he heard a shriek. Jogging over, he ploughed through the mob of first years to get to his irate friend who was brandishing a bottle of mead at a group of surly looking boys.

"All right, that's enough!" Harry said angrily, moving in front of Hermione "Everyone clear off, the alcohol's reserved for fourth years and up!"

The younger students looked as if they were going to put up a fight, but all the older students nearby seemed to have heard the word 'alcohol' and within moments the younger ones were moved, mostly by brute force.

"Fourth years and up!" Hermione hissed, turning on Harry "The legal drinking age is seventeen!"

"Well sometimes you have to compromise." he tried to steer her away "And besides," he changed the subject quickly "what happened to you?"

Hermione's shoulders slumped and she ran her fingers through her hair which was wet in places and smelled strongly of gillywater.

"They didn't take too well to me confiscating their drinks," she looked suddenly miserable "why didn't you help me Harry? You just wandered off and left me."

Guilt descended on him like a noxious cloud. "I - I'm sorry" he said, but Hermione looked tearful as she noticed a wet stain down her arm as well.

"Look at me!" she whispered "Everyone thinks I'm-"

"An alcoholic?" Malfoy panted as he pulled himself through the quickly thickening crowd "You definitely smell like it Granger!" he smirked, then said a little more seriously "This is going to get out of hand, there's too many people and McLaggen's started some kind of wrestling tournament over the last of the firewhiskey."

"The _last _of it?" Harry asked, confused. It was less than half an hour into the party!

"Yes," Draco said conversationally "people are downing it like water - say, what happened to you Granger?" he turned to Hermione who promptly burst into tears.

"I'm sick of being treated like this!" she sobbed, and Draco backed away slightly looking alarmed "Everyone looks at me like - like I'm Filch or something!"

"Hermione it's just because you were telling those first years off." Harry tried to sound calm and soothing, but he felt panicked at the sight of a girl crying, particularly as it was something that Hermione just didn't do.

"No Harry, I don't mean only now!" she wiped her eyes but another tear escaped "You told me to relax and have fun, and I was going to try but the first thing I had to do was control some stupid first years because Seamus couldn't think of anyone else scary enough, or mean enough to crush people's spirits at a party!"

"Hermione, Seamus didn't mean-"

"Granger if Finnigan isn't mature enough to think of the consequences before giving eleven year olds firewhiskey, then that's hardly your problem."

Harry turned to stare at Draco in shock. Hermione gave a surprised hiccough.

"_Someone _had to get them to stop drinking though." she whispered, scrubbing her tears away again using her sleeve.

"But it wasn't your problem until you chose to take it on." Malfoy said sharply. "You should have told Finnigan to deal with it himself."

For a moment Hermione just stared at Draco in confusion, then Malfoy's cheeks flushed slightly.

"I'm going to get some more wine before McLaggen bags that too." he muttered, turning and disappearing into the crowd.

Harry opened his mouth make a comment, but at that moment the music quietened down and there were several explosions and the hall fell silent. There was an ominous fizzing noise, and then a catherine wheel above the door burst into flame, followed by another on the wall high above Harry and Hermione, and then another at the back of the hall, and another. The display would have been stunning if it weren't for some streamers catching fire and falling to the ground, but they were stamped out quickly. There were some pops and bangs as party poppers exploded over the crowd and then the doors burst open and through the thick smoke came striding Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Dumbledore himself.

Everyone gasped, then whispering and much coughing broke out as the doors to the room of requirement swung shut again behind the professors, fanning smoke around.

"What is the meaning of this?" Snape spat, his face livid, and the students fell silent.

"Silence Professor Snape!" Dumbledore said jovially "You greasy nincompoop!"

Harry exchanged an incredulous glance with Hermione who looked shell shocked.

"But these students are having _fun_!" Snape hissed "Draco Malfoy, you slimy ferret, where were you?! Five thousand points from Slytherin for allowing this to happen!"

Realisation slowly began to dawn on Harry, and by the darkening expression on Hermione's face he could see she had worked it out too.

"Nonsense Professor Snape!" McGonagall chipped in, swaggering in a manner highly reminiscent of Seamus "I do believe it's time we had a good old knees up!"

"Well then thank goodness Ron Weasley organised this fabulous get together!" Dumbledore exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air, and with a bang the balloons hovering by the ceiling exploded, the music restarted and the lights dimmed. The crowd of students roared, and up above, hundreds of flashing balls of light had emerged from the giant balloons which darted around in the air like so many snitches.

"What is he thinking!?" Hermione shouted furiously over the music "He could be expelled for impersonating a teacher!"

"Which one do you think he is?" Harry shouted back.

"I should think _that__'__s_ fucking obvious!" Malfoy bellowed as he charged through a group of Hufflepuffs, his face white with fury "How dare he!"

"Snape then." Harry deduced "How do you think he got the hair for the Polyjuice?"

"Of course he's Snape you idiot!" Malfoy snapped, ignoring his question. "Who else but Weasel dances that badly?"

They both turned to observe the hook-nosed figure gyrating his way through the crowd towards the irate Hermione. Harry stared bemusedly, jaw dropping. It was possibly the most frightening thing he had ever seen.

"Alright Harry?" Ron-Snape called cheerfully in Snape's oily voice "What's up with you, Hermione?" his unnatural grin faltered as he took in Hermione's angry expression "Enjoying the party?" he said uncertainly.

"Let's get out of here." Harry muttered, tugging Draco away by the elbow. The Slytherin hastily complied.

By eleven o'clock, Harry was beginning to doubt that Ron's party had been a good idea at all. Most of the first years who had been drinking were now looking severely ill and had either retreated under the buffet tables to sleep it off or to an adjacent toilet that the room had conjured up to be sick. Cormac McLaggen was now challenging everyone who approached the drinks table to a fight and more than half the male population of the room were now sporting black eyes or burst lips. It also looked like someone had just had a desire to fly, or else the room of requirement had just spontaneously decided to produce some brooms, because suddenly a group of fourth years took to the air on four battered looking Hummingbird Two-Hundreds.

Dean and Seamus had allowed their Polyjuice disguises to wear off and were now simply looking odd in slightly too big robes ,or in Seamus's case, a hideous tartan dress, but Ron had continued to take secondary doses of his own potion and was continuously frightening students as he swooped down on the custard tart or the egg sandwiches.

Harry hadn't seen Hermione since Ron last approached her and he could only hope she wasn't too upset by whatever he had said. He'd tried to look for her but she wasn't to be found and Harry wasn't too keen on searching the girl's toilets for her as well, particularly as Cho Chang had disappeared in there with a shirtless Slytherin prefect half an hour ago and was yet to exit.

Hovering several feet above the crowd, Seamus was snogging a fifth year Ravenclaw so intently that he had failed to notice his broom was listing to the side, causing it to hover closer and closer to the wall. The tail twigs of the broom were now scraping along the stone and several had already snapped off and landed in the buffet below.

Harry finally decided that things had gotten somewhat out of hand when a burly seventh year ploughed his broom into a group of frightened Hufflepuffs and knocked over the punch bowl onto Neville's head.

Up ahead, Harry saw a platinum head making it's way toward the doors

"Malfoy!" he bellowed over the music, and the head turned his way. Harry elbowed some giggling Ravenclaw boys out of the way with rather unnecessary force until he was face to face with the Slytherin.

"Having a good time, Potter?" Malfoy drawled, his grey eyes flickering over a butterbeer stain on Harry's shirt.

"Not right now, no." Harry snapped "Could you give me a hand calming this all down before something happens to those idiot first years." He waved a hand towards the crowd.

"Like you killing them all?" Draco smirked

"Possibly." Harry allowed "But will you help me?"

"Sorry, can't - in fact I suggest you get out of here soon."

"What? Why?" Harry bellowed over a sudden explosion coming from the back of the room.

Malfoy nodded at the door to the room and Harry froze in horror. It was open.

"There's not a hope in hell that every professor in the school isn't on their way down, is there?" he said, his voice strangled.

"Nope." Draco said, looking delighted "So can I come under your cloak with you?"

"What?" Harry replied, as he searched the crowd for a sign of Ron or Hermione. He had to get them out of here soon.

"I _was_ just going to run for it, but I want to watch the show - can you imagine Snape's face when he sees _that_?" He nodded towards the buffet table, where Ron-Snape was lying flat out drunk amongst the sausage rolls.

"Ron!" Harry realised his friend must have taken another dose of polyjuice "C'mon Malfoy, you've got to help me get him out of here!"

"Not likely, after his comments earlier."

"Harry!" Harry spun around to a frantic Hermione, who was groping his sides frantically

"_Hermione!_" he gasped, scandalised

"The cloak Harry, the cloak" she tugged at his pocket

"But Ron-!"

"No time! Harry, please, quick!" she pleaded frantically, looking distraught. Malfoy looked smug.

Harry relented and hoped no one was paying too much attention as he and Hermione disappeared from view, followed by Malfoy.

"No one invited you Malfoy!" Hermione hissed

"Shut it Granger!"

"Shh! What's -?"

The crowd suddenly fell silent, and Hermione's head whipped around so fast that she caught Harry in the teeth with her forehead. Luckily, no one heard her whimper, and Harry merely clapped his hand to his mouth, eyes watering. Draco was too distracted to notice; he was simply staring in trepidation as Professors McGonagall, Snape, Dumbledore and Filch entered the room of requirement.

"Would anyone like to explain what the meaning of this is?" McGonagall said, her voice furious. Her lips were thin and her eyes flashed as she looked around the room of requirement, narrowing as they landed on Seamus, who tried to hide his dress behind his broom without success

"Whoever is responsible for this-" Dumbledore started, but Professor Snape cut him short.

"Who is _that_?" Snape's voice was icy cold. "_Mobilicorbpus_!"

Ron's body, still Polyjuiced to look like Snape floated up into the air from it's position on the table, and Harry's heart stopped.

"He'll be expelled!" Hermione whimpered in his ear, her hand clutching at his for support. Unfortunately, they could do nothing but watch Ron meet his fate.

"I think we have found the culprit." Snape said softly, his eyes glittering evilly as he levitated Ron closer. Ron's head lolled to the side, and the sight of half a chipolata falling out of an unconscious Snape's mouth caused a few people to stifle sniggers, but the real Snape silenced them immediately with a deathly glare.

"If anyone would like to step forward." Dumbledore said, his eyes disappointed but his face stern "Then this will be your chance to own up."

"As if anyone is going to own up to this mess." Draco whispered

No one moved, but Harry saw Dean and Seamus exchanging frantic looks. Obviously they didn't want Ron to take all the blame, but they didn't want to be expelled either.

"I warn you," Dumbledore continued, his gaze sweeping over the crowd "those responsible for this will be facing the consequences of their actions. Anyone else who is caught who has not already owned up will almost certainly be facing expulsion."

Seamus and Dean stepped forward, there eyes downcast, depressed resignation on their faces.

…ooo000ooo…

Although Professor McGonagall ordered them all back to their dormitories, the sixth year Gryffindors and Ginny Weasley remained in the common room, holding a vigil for their absent members. Harry sat silently with his arm around Hermione, whose shoulders shook as tears streamed down her face.

"I should have stopped him." she kept murmuring, angrily shaking her head whenever Harry tried to tell her that Ron wouldn't have listened. Eventually she fell asleep against his shoulder

Neville sat a short distance away, looking upset.

"All right Neville?" Harry asked softly and Neville shrugged miserably

"Surely they won't expelled them?" he asked, but Harry didn't have an answer for them.

"They won't." Ginny said fiercely, but behind her anger it was obvious that she didn't have much hope.

Lavender and Parvati sat together by the fire. Parvati looked devastated, and Harry remembered that Dean had been her boyfriend. He closed his eyes and dozed, the sound of their whispering a constant reassuring noise in the background.

Some time later, the portrait hole opened, and everybody either turned around or scrambled to their feet at the sound of the catch clicking. Harry gently shook Hermione awake and she sprang to her feet too.

"Ron!" Hermione called as he stepped through, but he didn't look up. Neither did Dean or Seamus when they followed after him. The three of them simply made their way to the stairs to the boys dormitory in silence.

When Professor McGonagall stepped through she focussed on them like a hawk seeking prey.

"I thought I told you to go to your dormitories!" she snapped "Twenty points from Gryffindor! Each!"

"Professor please!" Hermione gasped "Are they going to be expelled?"

"They thoroughly deserve it! But -" her voice softened as Parvati flew into Lavender's arms sobbing "No, they will not be expelled. Now get to your dormitories!" Her voice returned to its usual tone.

With a sort of strangled hiccough, Hermione fled up the stairs.

…ooo000ooo…

Breakfast the next morning was a subdued affair. Harry and Hermione sat down on either side of Ron without any prompt, but they didn't speak to him. Hermione knew she ought to, but with her conflicting emotions she wasn't sure anything she said to him wouldn't start an argument. On one hand she felt sorry for Ron. He never thought things through and probably didn't foresee that his idea of a bit of fun was an offence worthy of being expelled for.

_Because thinking things through has always been my job! _

This was where her anger kicked in. Ron had taken her for granted all these years, and it was a kind of karma that his habit of not thinking for himself had come back to bite him. She hated that she still felt affection for him, at least in _that _way, despite the way he treated her.

Harry wasn't talking to Ron either, though he tried to shoot him an encouraging smile every time he looked up. He knew that Ron would treat any overtures of friendship as a sign of pity, and that more than anything would make Ron angry. He didn't dare say a word in case it made the animosity between them worse. No, a silent show of support was best, and in the meantime Ron had Seamus and Dean to talk to.

Harry was just buttering his toast when Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table and tapped the tide of his goblet with a spoon to catch their attention.

"Thank you." The professor began once the hall had quietened down. Harry decided by the stern look on Dumbledore's face that he was about to talk to them about the party. Sure enough, his first words were:

"I am disappointed and saddened by the event that was organised last night without my permission by three sixth year students." He surveyed the hall with his periwinkle blue eyes which seemed to rest on each student in turn, lingering on Ron, Seamus and Dean.

"I am also disappointed by those of you who attended the event, as it was made very clear on the invites that no permission had been sought. In any case, the curse on the parchment prevented younger students from speaking out, but any seventh year should not have had any difficulty breaking it, indeed many sixth years could have managed it after a little thought and study."

Beside Harry, Hermione turned a deep red shade.

"As students of Hogwarts, myself and you heads of houses expect each student to look out for those younger than them. Thus, I was horrified that many of you simply stood by when strong alcohol was offered to young students, some of which have not yet even turned eleven. Had teachers not intervened at the point that they did, I would expect several students to be severely ill - as it is there are fourteen first years unable to attend breakfast because they are confined to the hospital wing."

Many pupils looked surprised at this revelation, but looking down the Gryffindor table Harry noted that the only first years present were two timid looking girls.

"There are several other students who were injured because of the thoughtlessness of the three students who arranged this event." Harry couldn't help looking around at all the black eyes, courtesy of Cormac McLaggan.

"As punishment, I am removing Mr Weasley from the position of prefect." Harry stared at Ron in shock. Sure enough, the badge was not present on his chest. Ron refused to look at him.

"Professor McGonagall will appoint a new Gryffindor prefect in due time. Also, one hundred points apiece will be taken from Gryffindor, thanks to Messrs Weasley, Finnigan and Thomas."

The Gryffindors groaned; now the house was in minus points for the second time since Dumbledore had given back most of the thousand points that Harry had lost from Snape. Dean Seamus and Ron merely stared at their plates, heads bowed.

…ooo000ooo…

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Hermione asked as she packed her books away into her bag.

The library was almost empty; everyone was outside enjoying the thick layer of snow which had appeared overnight.

"Yes." Theo replied, looking up at her with a grim smile. "My mother will want to throw a few parties, and it's sort of mandatory that I have to be there for her to show off."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a pureblood tradition really." he explained, standing up. "At parties the children of the family are supposed to perform. Most people sing or play an instrument, or if they're completely talent-less, recite a poem. I bet your parents don't make you do things like that, it's horribly embarrassing." He smiled at her again and Hermione tried not to blush.

"Do you think your father will visit, seeing as its Christmas?" she asked tentatively, leading onto the subject she had been wanting to broach for some time now.

"Never has before." Theo said shortly, his usual smile fading.

"That's awful. Not even a letter?" she asked, feeling bad for him.

Theo snorted in an uncharacteristically sarcastic manner "If you think its awful then you clearly don't know my father. But I've no doubt he'll send a letter."

"Oh?" she prodded

"Every now and again he likes to remind me of my 'duty to wizard kind'. Full of plans for my future, he is."

"Plans?" Hermione said gently, noticing that Theo wasn't meeting her eyes.

"Yeah." he said gruffly "Plans I've no intention of going along with, though I'm not sure how I'll avoid it.""

Relief washed through her. "Oh good." she sighed, and Theo gave her a sharp look.

"What do you mean 'good'?" he said suspiciously "You don't even know what his plans are."

She froze for a moment, then finally managed "Oh - I - I just meant you shouldn't have to go along with anything you don't want to. I was just glad that you're going to follow your own path."

Theo continued to stare at her for a moment before shrugging. "Thanks," he said finally "Not everyone would agree with you unfortunately."

…ooo000ooo…

As Hermione climbed through the portrait hole, she smiled sadly at the sight of Harry signing the top of the list of students staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. She didn't doubt Professor McGonagall had pinned it up mere seconds ago. Harry's name was always at the top of the list.

"Hey you." She greeted him softly and he turned to smile at her.

"Hi. You're going home this Christmas again, right?" He couldn't quite hide the hint of hopefulness in his voice.

"I'm sorry Harry." She replied, biting her lip. She didn't want him to stay here alone, but her parents missed her terribly while she was at Hogwarts.

"Don't be!" He said, his voice falsely bright "I could use some time to myself. I take it Ron's going to the Burrow?"

"Yes." she confirmed, feeling even more guilty "And Malfoy?"

"Yeah," Harry sighed "he goes home every Christmas."

For a few moments they stood in silence.

"I hope Gringotts send my mum and dad's will soon." Harry said finally "I was hoping you'd be there to read over it with me."

"If it doesn't, you can always write to me and let me know what it says." she replied "Anyway. I've had enough moping around - do you want to go outside? The castle's practically empty, there's probably a snowball fight or two worth watching outside."

"All right then!" Harry grinned "But I'm not just watching - will you be on my team?"

"Not a chance!" Hermione giggled "Not all of us are over-excitable children!"

…ooo000ooo…

On the last day of term most people woke up early. Harry, dreading the lonely weeks ahead, followed suit. He arrived a little early at breakfast and decided to head outside for a bit rather than sit at the empty Gryffindor table.

To his surprise, he wasn't the only one awake and outside a small group of students had started a snowball fight, utilising the fresh layer of snow that had fallen in the night. He didn't realise he was grinning until a snowball hit him in the teeth.

"Hey!" He shouted indignantly at the figure running in the opposite direction, only for another one to hit him on the back. He turned around to see Justin Finch-Fletchley running away guffawing into his glove.

Laughing, Harry bent to cup a handful of snow. His hands were already turning red from the cold, so he wasted no time in running after and lobbing it at the nearest figure. Up ahead he saw Justin had taken refuge behind a tree.

Harry glanced around and spotted an old snow fort, knocked down into chunks of hard ice, now buried beneath the latest blanket of snow. He immediately set to rebuilding it while the other fighters occupied themselves with a new group of students who had emerged from the castle. There was much squealing and swearing as they were pelted with chunks of snow, and before long there was a large scale snowball fight in session.

By the time Harry had perfected his fort, snow had started falling again and it was coming down thick and fast. His hands, lips and nose were numb from the cold but he wanted to make the most of the last day of term. Kneeling behind his fort, he took aim at a long haired girl up ahead, who predictably squealed before aiming a snowball at him then running away. The snowball landed just to the side of his fort, so he picked it up and began making a small pile of his own, occasionally lobbing one at a passing student.

Suddenly, Harry was under attack. The snow had thickened to a blizzard and he had a hard time seeing his assailant, but the snowballs were coming thick and fast from his left. He responded with gusto, pelting his snowballs at the distant figure as hard as he could. All he could make out was a figure in a skirt with curly hair, a heavily padded jacket and a bobble hat. Whoever it was, they had surprisingly good aim for a girl at this distance.

The girl appeared to have run out of ammunition and began scooping up more snow. Harry wasted no time attacking her with his backup supply. Eventually the girl gave up, squealing in protest at his unrelenting attack. Scooping up a final armful of snow, she began running towards him, apparently with the intention of dumping it on his head.

Harry laughed, but it was cut short when at the last minute she slipped and came crashing down on his fort and the small wall of snow knocked him backwards.

"Hey! My fort!" He complained indignantly from under the heavy icy chunks.

The girl laughed, her hair bobbing in its soft brown ringlets as her bobble hat slipped to the side.

At first he didn't recognise her laughing brown eyes, then he saw the freckles across her snub nose and stopped.

"Parkinson?" he said stupidly. He hadn't recognised her with her hair done in curls.

"Hello Potter!" she said, still laughing "I got you good!"

"What - no you didn't!" he said crossly "You slipped and broke my fort!"

"Still got you!" she said condescendingly as she started scrambling to her feet "

Harry turned around as he heard Hermione's voice calling his name. "Harry?"

"Hey." he waved as she got closer

"What happened to you?" she covered her smile with her hand as she took in the chunks of compacted snow still clinging to his clothes.

"Pansy Parkinson got me." he replied, frowning. He turned back, but Pansy was gone. He looked down at the chunks of snow sticking to his jumper and brushed flakes out of his hair sheepishly.

"Well you'd better come in before you get a cold and miss breakfast." she reprimanded him loftily "Oh and you've got post too."

In no time at all Harry was struggling to his feet and dashing into the hall.

'Gringotts Wizarding Bank'. Harry could see it on the thick envelope before he'd even sat down.

"Are you going to open it?" Hermione asked as she slid onto the bench, feeding the owl a piece of sausage.

Harry stared at it for a moment. "Later." he decided slowly. "I want to take time to read it over properly."

He pushed the letter into his pocket and stared up at the snow falling from the enchanted ceiling. The melting snow on his clothes was soaking through to his skin, making him shiver.

He didn't open the letter until later that night in the empty common room. He wished Hermione was there with him, but he hadn't wanted to waste his last hours with his friend worrying over the contents of the envelope. At least that's what he told himself, but really he knew it was just that he was afraid of what he might read.

He stared absentmindedly at the letter in his hands for a few minutes, then pulled the parchment out the envelope and held his breath as he unfolded it.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_In response to your previous letter, I have enclosed a copy of Mr and Mrs Potter__'__s Last Will and Testament, a list of your assets and your Gringott__'__s key. Since the reclamation of your personal vault key, it has come to our attention that you may not have been informed of the existence of your family vault - your personal vault being a trust fund set up by Mr James Potter on the date of your birth. I have also included a summary of transactions for both your vaults since the death of Mr and Mrs Potter. _

_In addition, you have recently gained ownership of Mr Sirius Black__'__s vault through the Last Will and Testament of the above, and I enclose a copy of the assets you have inherited from him._

_Please do not hesitate to contact Gringotts if you require any further information__…_

Harry stopped reading and quickly shuffled through the sheaf of documents, unable to fully process the information at his finger tips. He had inherited Sirius's family vault! When, and why hadn't he been told? Maybe because it was so recent … but what about the Potter family vault then? He leafed through several pages with long lists of numbers. It looked like Sirius had been a very rich man when he had died - his Uncle Alphard must have really liked him after all…

_Hang on __…_he paused, frowning as he read. According to the parchment in front of him, he owned Grimmauld Place. Suspicions immediately occurred, but he continued reading as if his eyes were glued to the heavy parchment.

The sums of money inherited from Sirius were immense, more than his own personal vault by far, but when he got to the Potter family vault's contents he could only stare at the parchment until it blurred.

Harry was a rich man.

He'd thought he was before, he'd even thought he was on a par with Malfoy's pocket money vault, but this…

Well he didn't know how rich Lucius was the Malfoy name had always seemed far wealthier than the Potters to Harry, but he supposed it was possible that his family had simply never showed off their wealth using manors and expansive private lands.

Or did they? He scanned the document rapidly, and spotted several mentions of an ancestral home on the following paged only for his heart to sink. James Potter had sold it, and it appeared the contents had also been auctioned off separately.

Suddenly he froze as his eyes caught the date of the auction. Just under a year ago.

For a moment he didn't breath, then a red heat began to gather inside him, and his hands began to shake. He took a deep breath and forced himself to continue reading.

His family home had been in Northern England, but -_rrrrrp_ he jerked in surprise as the paper ripped in two in front of him, then realised he had been pulling too tight. He took another deep breath and forced himself to accept what he had just read.

_Okay. Every memory I might have had of that house is gone. But everything was sold fairly recently... which means it wasn__'__t my dad. And I didn__'__t sell it._

Which only left…

Harry leapt to his feet, scattering the papers and made for the door, anger fuelling his movement.

Then a sudden thought occurred to him and he hesitated, stumbling to a halt - what else had been hidden from him? Forcing himself to calm down, he turned and dropped to his knees to read the rest of the transactions. Pulling the pieces of parchment back into the right order on the red and gold carpet, he traced his finger down the columns of numbers.

Yes. It was worse.

Approximately just before he began his fifth year, large sums of money had been removed from the Potter vault every month or so. He double checked but no, they hadn't been going into his personal vault to replace his spent money.

The only calming thought he could dredge up was perhaps that James had made some kind of donation in his will - but if this was so, why was the money only being transferred now?

He reached next for the will, his fingers trembling again. He was afraid of what he would find out next.

Harry had to take a few moments to calm down before he could bring himself to look at the parchment, but when he did he devoured the familiar handwriting of his parents with his eyes, a last reminder of the life he should have had…his mum had drawn her g's the same as he did…his hands began to shake again as he read her strangely familiar text which spelled out very clearly:

…_if anything should happen to Sirius, our son should be raised by our dear friend Remus Lupin, or failing that, we would at least like Remus to be the one to find a suitable alternative guardian. __Under no circumstances __should Harry be given to my sister Petunia Dursley. _

That was the final straw.

Anyone who heard the unearthly roar emitting from Gryffindor tower late that night would not have been blamed for supposing that Harry Potter's life was in danger from some kind of wild beast, especially not anyone who witnessed the boy slamming open the fat lady's portrait and leaving it hanging open behind him as he sprinted up staircases and through the empty halls of the castle as though his life depended on it.

When Harry skidded to a halt at the stone gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office, adrenaline pumping through his veins, he aimed a vicious kick at it before bellowing the password, intending to blast his way in if it had changed. In fact, he _hoped _the password had changed because he was having trouble restraining himself.

But the gargoyle fled and in no time at all Harry was running up the moving stone staircase and hammering on the wooden door, ignoring the golden door knocker, intending to beat his fists bloody against it if he had to.

Dumbledore's office door swung open and he stumbled forward, ignoring the approaching bat-like shape of Professor Snape, who appeared to be shouting at him. He rounded on the deceitfully grandfather-like figure behind the desk, kicking the empty chair Snape had recently been occupying out of the way

"YOU!" he roared, grasping for his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Snape shouted behind him, and it flew out of his hand just as his fingers were closing on it. Harry wasn't so easily deterred and reached for the nearest smoke-puffing ornament, and Snape wasn't fast enough this time to stop him from hurling it at the headmaster with all his strength.

Dumbledore stepped to the side to avoid the missile, but did not draw his wand, but stared at Harry with fear. Not because he was frightened, Harry deduced, but fear, because he could see that Harry had found out something he had not wanted him to.

Snape had his wand raised, about to curse Harry, who had stopped to regain his breath and glare at the headmaster, but Dumbledore waved his hands, and called "No - Severus - it is alright!"

"Alright?" Snape said incredulously, not lowering his wand which was now poking into the back of Harry's neck "This filthy whelp has _assaulted -_"

"It IS NOT ALRIGHT!" Harry bellowed, swiping at the wand and sending it clattering to the floor as he caught Snape by surprise. "You LIED to me! YOU THIEF!" he screamed, his shoulders trembling with rage, stabbing his finger in accusation at the old man.

Snape, who had bent to retrieve his wand from the floor, rose again swiftly, wand pointed at him, snarling "You've gone too far this time Potter, your fame won't preven-"

"Go to hell and fuck your greasy mother you git!" Harry snapped, panting. His anger was almost overwhelming, his ears were ringing and he was having trouble concentrating on Dumbledore's voice - all he wanted to do was fight Snape for his wand and curse the headmaster, or at least throw something else.

"Harry, I must insist -"Dumbledore began sternly

"SHUT UP!" Harry screamed, his vocal chords protesting painfully. "YOU - you've been s_tealing _money from my parent's vaults - you THIEF!"

"You can explain your ridiculous claims to the aurors Potter!" Snape shouted, striding towards the fireplace.

"I would _love _to." Harry seethed, at the same time Dumbledore said "Severus! No!"

Snape stopped mid-stride and wheeled around to stare incredulously at the headmaster, whose face was white.

"Albus, the allegations Potter is trying to-"

"You've had my vault key since my parents died, and someone else has been making withdrawals and selling my parent's property!" Harry sneered at the headmaster, daring him to deny it.

"What assumptions you jump to, such touching loyalty you show to the man who has saved your skin again and again-" Snape said nastily, but Harry cut in;

"I - have - no - loyalty - to YOU!" he shouted at the headmaster, not bothering to look at Snape "Why didn't you tell me I had another vault? _Oh yes_, because you were making withdrawals - how _convenient _that you only needed to give me my key once a year to visit Diagon Alley!"

"Harry-" Dumbledore began "Your father agreed that his money could be used to fund the Order of the-"

"Then why isn't it on his will?" Harry demanded "And why wasn't I informed of the existence of the money?"

"You have seen the will?" the headmaster asked, but Harry only glared back defiantly.

Dumbledore merely stared at Harry before seeming to age a few years before Harry's eyes. He leant forward over the desk, his thumb and forefinger over his eyelids. Beside Harry, Professor Snape's eyes were flitting between Harry and Dumbledore, an indecipherable expression on his face.

"Harry…." Dumbledore tried, then started again. "My boy-"

"I am _not _your boy!" Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Harry then. It is true that James did not mention his decision to donate money on his will, but when he was alive he made it clear that his inheritance was at the Order's disposal. I saw no reason to take donations after his death however, until Voldemort returned last year. You see now that Voldemort had returned, the Order needs funding in order to stop him-"

"You had no right to help yourself." Harry said coldly

"Your father's family left him a vast amount of money, the donations barely-"

"_You had no right!_" Harry repeated.

"Your father would have wanted-"

"IT"S NOT UP TO MY FATHER!" Harry bellowed "How dare you! You didn't even have the decency to ask me - I would have given the money in a heartbeat but you had the gall to just walk in there and take what you wanted, auctioning off the last of my parent's possessions - you weren't ever going to tell me about that vault!"

"Of course I was!" Dumbledore looked shocked "Harry, when you came of age-"

"You would have paid someone to wipe the records clean, with my money no less!"

"I would _not _have done that, Harry!" Dumbledore said loudly, his voice firm, and now angry. "I can't begin to think what you must think of me, but I intended to talk to you about the matter when you turned seventeen!"

Harry stared at the old man, hatred pounding in his heart. He'd known, he'd _known _he would manipulate him!

"Harry, your father barely would have known the Potter manor, it was his grandparent's home, both the house and the possessions you speak of would not have been of great personal value to him-"

"It was still my decision to make, not yours! Let me guess how you would have told me about what you've done." Harry said, his voice dripping with sarcasm "You'd have made me believe that you had no other choice. Made me feel guilty for even feeling anything other than glad that you used my money. What else would you have said to manipulate me? Draco was right about you!"

"Draco Harry? Is that the sort of person you associate with these days?" Dumbledore asked, a pained expression crossing his wrinkled face.

"Don't you - don't you dare -" Harry warned him, clenching his fists "You dare try to forbid me to do one thing, and I swear -"

"What Harry?" Dumbledore asked sharply "Will you kill me?"

"No I -!" Harry began, shocked

"Harry do I need to remind you of young Tom Rid-"

"You're doing it again." Harry cut in angrily "Stop trying to manipulate me, I know what you've done! Don't even try to suggest it. Just because I'm not going to be your puppet anymore does _not _make me evil! I am not like Voldemort and I never will be!"

There was a long silence where Harry stood breathing heavily, his muscles clenched, glaring at the old man who refused to meet his eyes. Somewhere in the background, Snape stood observing the scene in silence.

Finally Dumbledore looked up, and his eyes were calm.

"I apologise Harry. I should not have taken the money without your permission. I simply reasoned that you were still underage, and in any case it might not be a good idea to give your key to Mrs Dursley-"

"Oh yes, here we go." Harry scoffed, shaking his head scornfully "And why would you not want to give her my key Professor? Because she would steal my money, like you did?"

"Harry, your aunt would not have-" Dumbledore began again, and Harry bristled with anger at his reprimanding tone.

"THEN WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT ITS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO GIVE HER THE KEY? MY SCHOOL LETTER WAS ADDRESSED TO THE CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS YOU OLD BUFFOON!" Harry bellowed "Why did you think that was? You knew full well that my aunt and uncle treated me badly!"

"A magical quill addresses the letters Potter," Snape said suddenly and Harry jumped, having forgotten he was there "Professor Dumbledore could not have possibly known, nor would he allow you to come to harm!"

"My mum clearly stated in her will that I was not under ANY circumstances to be given to her sister!" Harry seethed and Snape froze..

"Albus…" Snape's voice had an odd tone, but Harry disregarded it.

"You blatantly ignored her!" Harry accused Dumbledore, clenching his fists to stop himself from lashing out.

"Severus," Dumbledore said "I think you should leave Harry and I-"

Snape seemed not to hear him.

"Albus?" he said again, his tone demanding an explanation

"Why did you make me live with them?" Harry demanded unrelentingly, caught up in his tirade "I _told _you this summer they beat me and starved me and locked me away and YOU ALREADY KNEW! YOU SENT ME BACK EVERY YEAR!" To his horror, Harry felt tears prickling. Swearing, he turned his back to hide his face, and then froze at the words Snape said next.

"Albus! Explain why you have deceived me!" Snapes voice was low, he obviously didn't want Harry to hear, but when he turned round he could see that Snape's expression was furious, as if he couldn't contain the question any longer.

Dumbledore didn't meet his eyes "Harry may not have been happy, but he has been kept _alive _by the wards -"

"I don't need to hear this shit." Harry said coldly "I'm giving you one last chance to tell me if there's anything else you've kept from me."

"Harry there is no more you need to know-"

"It's not for you to decide what I need to know!" Harry said frustrated. It felt like he was talking to a brick wall.

"There is nothing-"

"_Liar._" Harry snarled "When where you going to mention I inherited Sirius's vault? And Grimmauld Place, which incidentally you're still using as headquarters without the owner's - MY - permission?"

"Albus you have not answered my question!" Snape repeated, "Why have you gone against Lily's wishes?"

Dumbledore ignored him, staring hard at Harry, his blue eyes troubled.

"Harry I was going to inform you about Sirius's will in due time, but even you must realise that little time has passed since Sirius's death - in the legal world in any case."

"Whatever." Harry shrugged angrily "You've been hiding things from me. At the end of last year you told me you were telling me everything. I don't believe you anymore, so I'll ask you one last time - what else haven't you told me?"

"And I too Albus, am waiting for a reply!" Snape raised his voice, and Harry turned in surprise at his threatening tone"Why did you purposefully ignore Lily's wishes?!"

"Why do you care?" Harry said spitefully "You've never given a damn about me-"

Snape turned on Harry, seething "You insufferable brat! I care _nothing _for the idiot spawn of Potter-!"

"Severus!" Dumbledore interrupted "I will speak with you later-"

"I wish to know now headmaster!" Harry stared in shock at the professor, whose hands were shaking in anger.

"Professor why don't you just tell us both what we want to know?" Harry cut in, glancing at Snape uncertainly.

For a moment, Harry thought he was going to refuse, but then with a sigh the old man got slowly to his feet and approached the pensieve cabinet.

With a flick of his wand, the pensieve rose up and floated slowly over to the headmaster's desk and landed gently in the middle. Harry moved forward curiously as Dumbledore opened his desk drawer and removed several stoppered vials. One by one he popped them open to pour their silvery substance into the pensieve's swirling mass of memories. Finally, he stepped back and motioned for Harry to come closer.

"These memories will help me to answer your questions Harry." the old man's voice was tired, resigned.

Harry watched Tom Riddle murder Morvin Gaunt, his uncle. He watched Voldemort, working for Borgin and Burke's, he watched him visit an old lady, who showed him Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. He watched him attempt to secure a teaching position at Hogwarts. And then he watched young Tom Riddle ask Professor Slughorn a question about Horcruxes. He saw Slughorn give an answer which chilled Harry to the bone.

Surely it wasn't possible…?

But before Harry could wonder about it further, he was being pulled out of the penseive and he was back in Dumbledore's office.

"I am afraid that last memory cost me a life long friendship." Dumbledore said sadly.

"What have you done Albus?" Snape asked, his voice dripping with venom, but Harry interrupted him.

"What did those memories mean?" he asked the headmaster "Has Voldemort made a Horcrux?"

He heard Snape breath in sharply.

"No Harry." The old professor sighed "I believe he made several Horcruxes, seven even."

"_What_?" Snape exclaimed "But the amount of damage - that would be-"

"Let me explain Severus." Dumbledore sighed, covering his eyes with his palms. "Riddle believed seven the most magically powerful number, and so he made seven Horcruxes and apart from the fragment in his body, he stored them in powerful magic objects. Riddle felt a pull toward Hogwarts, it was his first real home, and so he chose items associated with its founders - Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket…you saw them in the memories Harry. I believe he visited Hogwarts for a 'job interview' merely so that he could obtain a relic of Gryffindor's. However I am confident that the only known relic of Gryffindor's is safe." he raised his weary head to nod to Gryffindor's sword on display on the wall nearby.

"So we need to destroy seven horcruxes before we even attempt to kill Voldemort?" Harry said faintly.

"Six Harry, the last is in his physical body. And between you and I we have destroyed a further two."

"What?"

"I believe that Tom Riddle's diary was the first Horcrux he made - it didn't have a very impressive container, but it was only a test and he intended to make many more. You destroyed it in your second year. And then there is this ring…" Dumbledore removed a ring with a black stone from his drawer and showed it to Harry.

"This was a Horcrux?" Harry questioned. His anger was temporarily stayed by curiosity.

"Recall Harry, the ring Marvolo Gaunt showed Mr Ogden in the first memory that I showed you. He believed it to be the Peverell coat of arms. Tom Riddle killed his uncle as you saw in the memory, and then went on to kill Tom Riddle senior along with his elderly muggle parents. You may have noticed that he wore the ring in the memory with Professor Slughorn? This indicates that it was not yet a Horcrux, and I have no doubt that not long after he learned more about Horcruxes from the professor that he wasted no time in turning it into one."

"But how was it destroyed?"

"I destroyed it using the sword of Gryffindor, which, as all goblin-made weapons do, imbibes only that which makes it stronger. Therefore the blade was poisoned with Basilisk venom from your defeat of one in your second year, one of the few things which can be used to destroy a Horcrux."

Harry paused to think this over. "What are the other ways of destroying a Horcrux?" he asked.

"You must put it beyond magical repair - fiendfyre can be used, but it is notoriously difficult to control. There are several other dark spells…but they are too risky to use. The sword of Gryffindor is the best option. You asked a while ago what happened to my hand, Harry?"

"Yeah…" he said uncertainly

"I put the ring Horcrux on my finger, believing that because I had vanquished the part of Voldemort's sould inside it, that is was safe. The ring was cursed, and I no longer have use of this hand. Do not be complacent with Horcruxes, Harry. Do not be tempted to control one, and do not allow yourself to get emotionally close to one."

"Why on earth would I be _emotionally_ close to a Horcrux?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Miss Weasley poured her heart into Tom Riddle's diary, did she not?" Dumbledore said solemnly

"Oh."

"Quite." The headmaster sighed.

"So there are four more Horcruxes to destroy?"

"Five." Dumbledore corrected.

"Five?" Harry counted on his fingers "I don't understand, you destroyed two - oh I forgot, the one still in Voldemort's body."

"No Harry, excluding the part of soul that still resides in Voldemort, there are five Horcruxes left."

"I don't understand."

"I highly suspect one of them will be an object that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. Then we will need to destroy Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket and … I have suspected Nagini, Voldemort's snake for quite some time now."

"But that still makes four, excluding the two already destroyed."

"I believe that Voldemort made an unintentional Horcrux."

Silence followed this statement, and Dumbledore averted his eyes before continuing.

"On the night Voldemort tried to kill you Harry, when Lily cast her own life between you and he as a shield, the killing curse rebounded upon Lord Voldemort, and a fragment of Voldemort's soul was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself onto the only living soul left in that collapsing building."

Somewhere from inside the growing numbness inside him, Harry noticed Snape's fingers twitching in his peripheral vision.

"Part of Voldemort lives inside you Harry, and it is that which gives you the power of Parseltongue, and a connection with Voldemort's mind which you have never understood."

"So the boy must die?" Snape's voice bloomed out of the darkness behind Harry

"Yes." Dumbledore was still not looking at Harry "And it is vitally important that Voldemort does it himself, after the other Horcruxes have been destroyed. And then someone must destroy the final piece in Voldemort's body.

Harry felt as though he was falling. He gripped the velvet backed chair beside him for support. He stared, eyes unfocussed at the headmaster.

"You have used me." Snape's voice continued. "I have lied for you, and spied for you, all for protecting Lily's son yet you have merely been raising him like a pig for the slaughter!"

"This - this isn't true-" Harry said numbly.

"Potter you arrogant fool!" Snape's hands were on his shoulders, shaking him.

"Severus!" Dumbledore exclaimed, but Snape continued to speak, glaring down at Harry with mockery in his eyes, fuelled by a malevolent anger.

"You were sent to live with Petunia Dursley so that when the headmaster sent his man to rescue you from their home, you would be eternally grateful to him!"

"Harry!" Dumbledore was calling him, but all Harry could see was Snape's dark, tunnel-like eyes.

"It was purposefully calculated that the first fatherly figure you would meet would be Dumbledore!" Snape spat, breaking eye contact for a moment to shoot a malicious glare at the headmaster "It all makes sense, don't you see boy? After that, how could you not bend to his every whim! You grew up believing your life was worth nothing! All the easier to persuade you to give it up for the good of all!"

"Harry, I never knew the true extent of your treatment until it was too late!" Dumbledore's voice pleaded in the background "When you finally came to me this summer, I thought that after all these years you could stand another few, just to ensure your safety!"

"Safety?!" Snape said icily "Albus, you played on his weaknesses!" He did not break his gaze from Harry's, who was now almost paralyzed by shock. "Did you really believe the Philosopher's stone would be so badly protected that three first years could get to it?" the potions master continued unrelentingly "That the headmaster would be unable to figure out what was attacking and petrifying students? That he would have allowed any ordinary child to compete in the Triwizard Tournament?! You have been used, you blind fool, trained for the job, conditioned to give up your life at the right time!"

"But - but people have _died_ -" Harry gasped finally, pulling his eyes away from Snape's to face Dumbledore "Cedric - if I hadn't been in the Tournament he would still be alive! Ginny could have died, but if you knew what was attacking the students long before she was taken into the chamber! How - how could-"

"How could he?" Snape said coldly "It was for the greater good Potter. All to prepare you to give your life to destroy the Dark Lord. You have been a fool." the Potions Master let go of him as if he were something filthy, diseased, and Harry stumbled backwards until his back hit a bookshelf.

Snape turned to Dumbldore, his face etched in cruel, hard lines to form a sneer. "You have betrayed me, using the welfare of Lily's son as a mask." He turned and left, his robes billowing as the door slammed shut behind him.

Harry struggled to stand upright as Dumbledore still did not look at him.

"Why does he care so much about my mother and not my dad?" he asked roughly as he moved shakily to leave. He refused to let himself even think about the bigger issue of his impending death.

"It's not my place-" Dumbledore mumbled

"Tell me." Harry ordered, white rage making his fingernails cut into his palms, and Dumbledore relented without further protest.

"Severus loved your mother." the professor said shortly "He knew her as a child and they grew up together, left for Hogwarts together. He saw James Potter as nothing more than the bully who had tormented him for six years, and at the last moment, stole his love away from him."

Harry could only stare.

"It was Severus who informed Voldemort of the prophecy, but when he discovered that it involved Lily Potter he defected from Voldemort - it was not in time. I convinced him to continue his work as a spy to protect Lily's son, as she would have wanted."

"So everything Snape said was true." Harry said, his voice hollow as his fingers curled around the gold door knob. "And he would know, because you manipulate him too."

Harry left.

32


	10. Chapter 9

_Reviews please! I need them to sooth myself because of the fact I don't own HP or any money. At all._

The Christmas holidays dragged past so slowly that after what seemed like three days, Harry rose from the armchair in front of the common room fire, only to find out that it was only the next morning.

He couldn't bring himself to think of food, so he merely dragged himself upstairs to bed, and there he removed his clothes and mechanically pulled on his pyjamas and crawled under the scarlet covers.

He couldn't bring himself to think, and so he forced himself to sleep. When that failed, he focussed on clearing his mind for something to do. He must have fallen asleep eventually though, because when he next looked at the clock it was two in the afternoon.

Under the covers, he curled up unhappily. It seemed that there was nothing to do _but _think. His stomach rumbled and for the first time he realised he was hungry, although how he could feel hungry at a time like this he didn't know. He didn't like this depressing reminder that life still went on, despite how for him the earth had stopped moving last night.

Finally, unable to ignore the silence around him any longer, he sat up in bed and called for Dobby. His voice sounded rough, from disuse he decided, because he had _not _been crying.

Dobby appeared with a crack and his ears fell in dismay at the sight of Harry slumped against the headboard.

"Is master Harry ill?" the elf asked shrilly, tears threatening to spill out of his orb-like eyes.

Harry cringed away from the high pitched voice.

"I'm fine Dobby." he said firmly "I'm just a little hungry. Could you bring me a sandwich - and keep your voice down please." he added as Dobby opened his mouth again.

"Anything for Harry Potter." the elf whispered dramatically, wringing his hands in distress "Is there anything else that Dobby can bring for Harry Potter? A hot water bottle? Or porridge? Or warm cocoa?"

"Um. A glass of water will be fine thanks Dobby. But that's all."

When the house elf disapperated Harry rolled over onto his side and groaned, pulling his pillow down so that he could hug it and lean his head on it at the same time.

He didn't know what to think. His whole life had been orchestrated, and his path was headed inevitably towards death. He could never be his own person because he didn't know who he really was; the Harry Potter he knew was only real because of Dumbledore's manipulations. And being who he had been made into, he would die to rid the world of Voldemort - for of course he had been made too selfless on purpose. He couldn't allow himself to live at the expense of hundreds of lives.

Dobby appeared with a crack and a towering stack of assorted sandwiches and holding a jug of water. A goblet was balanced precariously on his hat.

"Thanks Dobby." Harry said tiredly, pouring himself some water.

"Is there anything else Dobby can do?" the elf asked anxiously "Harry Potter is not well, and Dobby does not like to see him like this."

"There's nothing Dobby, but thanks anyway. I'll probably come down and visit you a lot during the holidays, so don't worry about me."

The elf looked cheered at this and disapperated again.

It was true, Harry realised, because Dobby was the only one in the castle who would never betray him, at least not on purpose. Harry wished that he had never told Dobby to work for Dumbledore, because now the elf could be used to spy on him. If Harry could justify taking on Dobby as a personal elf he would, but at the moment he couldn't. Dobby would be bored out of his mind and Harry already knew the perils of being harassed by a well-meaning house elf.

For the next couple of days, Harry ate in the kitchens and moped in his room thinking things over.

There was nothing Harry could do to change the past. Perhaps he wasn't the same person he would have been if he had been brought up by a loving family, but then he'd always known that. He remembered watching his dad bully Snivellus in Snape's penseive and wondered if that was for the best. _He _might have turned out just the same.

A recurring thought was that Professor Snape too had been betrayed by the headmaster, and Harry wondered whether he should speak to the head of Slytherin. He doubted that Snape would suddenly warm up to him, but he wondered where the professor stood with Dumbledore now. Was he still a spy? Was Dumbledore going to fire him because he had found out that he had been manipulated.

A chilling thought occurred to Harry; what would the headmaster do to _him _now? Would Harry be expelled and sent back to the Dursleys? What use was a boy-who-lived who refused to follow instructions? Because after finding out what he had, Harry knew one thing only even if he was still sorting out the rest, and that thing was that he would follow his own path. His conscience made him unable to escape killing Voldemort, but if he did, he would do it his way.

Harry looked forward to Hermione and Ron returning. He would make up with Ron, whatever it took, and when he did, his friends would commiserate with him and rage against how Dumbledore had treated him. There was no way they could side against Harry when Dumbledore was threatening his life.

He knew that he had to decide what he was going to do before they returned though. He couldn't return to classes without a plan of action. He had to decide how he was going to act, and where to look for allies. Would the Weasley family side with Dumbledore? He doubted it. It was clear that the headmaster was in the wrong.

And what about Malfoy? How would he react when he found out Harry wanted nothing to do with Dumbledore. He would have to think up a new story as to why he still wanted to hang around with Harry. Maybe Harry would have to offer him a plausible reason - perhaps he could give a convincing reason why he himself could protect Malfoy as well as Dumbledore? It didn't really matter what the reason was, as long as it was realistic enough that Malfoy could agree with him without looking suspicious.

Harry felt a weight the size of a boulder settle in his stomach. He hadn't gotten very far at all with making Malfoy _really _trust him. He was pretty sure he didn't find Harry irritating anymore; they got on well enough these days, but Harry knew that whatever Malfoy acted like, there was a long way to go before he could get Malfoy to actually _want _to trust him. He just needed to find some way of making Malfoy want to be on Harry's side, for real.

Harry sighed and tried to think about something else, because before he could decide how he was going to act with Malfoy, he needed to see how Dumbledore was planning on treating him so that Harry could figure out how to act with the headmaster in public. And he also had to suss out where Snape's loyalties lay.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry took his chance after dinner in the great hall three days later. He had not attended dinner, but observed it from the entrance hall, beneath his invisibility cloak.

The teachers were sitting with the students at the staff table, as was usual when there were so few at Hogwarts. Harry was the only Gryffindor staying, and he could see his empty plate sitting suspiciously in clear view of the headmaster. The professor eyed the space on the bench sadly before beginning his meal, and Harry stopped to think about that.

If Harry was reading the headmaster's expression correctly, it looked as though he regretted that Harry felt the way he did about what he had done. Maybe Dumbledore even regretted his actions. If so, then Harry must be safe. Dumbledore would not attempt to harm him because he probably wanted to regain Harry's trust.

He couldn't assume that though. Harry had spent days considering every possibility and the only answer he could come up with was that he had to be on his guard around Dumbledore and that he should always be alert to the idea that anything he might say could be an attempt at manipulation.

Up at the high table, Snape didn't appear to have any more than his usual black expression on his face, and although he didn't speak to the headmaster, he didn't glare at him or anything more telling, so when the teachers began to rise to their feet, Harry stood by the entrance to the dungeons and followed Snape when he swept past.

He followed the professor into the dungeons until he was sure they were out of earshot of everyone, then called "Professor Snape!" and as Snape spun around, he whipped his cloak off.

Snape's eyes narrowed in on him "Well Potter, you've finally come out from licking your wounds!" he sneered "What do you want, now that you've finally finished sulking?"

His tone did not sound promising, but Harry decided to ask anyway. "Professor Snape, have you fallen out with Professor Dumbledore?"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for disrespecting your professors!" Snape replied smoothly "I don't see how that would be any of your business Potter!"

"I just want to know if you're still working for Dumbledore!" Harry said "And the Order!"

"Silence!" Snape hissed "Foolish brat! Do you have no discretion!" He eyed the dark corridors suspiciously and Harry wondered if he too would become just as paranoid. Finally Snape turned back to him.

"This is a war, you selfish ingrate," he hissed at Harry "I fail to see why a personal dispute would have any bearing on it!"

"So you haven't gone back to Voldemort but you aren't talking to Dumbledore either." Harry deduced, only to flinch backwards as Snape darted forwards to hiss in his face.

"How dare you make assumptions about me! I warn you Potter, if you are looking for some kind of alliance or support you are looking in the wrong place! I want nothing to do with you and if it didn't directly defeat my purposes I would hand you to the Dark Lord on a silver platter to rid my self of you!"

Harry flinched back again, and stared at Snape in confusion. "I only meant - I thought because - Dumbledore told me you liked my moth-"

"SILENCE!" Snape bellowed, and this time Harry had to duck for real as the professor made a swipe for him. "How dare you Potter! You had no right…he had no right. I have already made it more than clear that I have nothing but loathing for _you_. For someone who should be so disapproving of being manipulated you wasted no time for using those methods yourself!"

Harry shrank back in horror, pulling the cloak back over himself "I didn't-"

"You did Potter." Snape advanced on him "You knew he was in a position where he would tell you, if only you pushed, and you did. You are just as bad as he."

Harry pulled the cloak over his head and fled.

…ooo000ooo…

It took Harry a long time to get over that accusation. At first the very horror of the idea consumed him and he stared into the Gryffindor fire for hours, wondering what he had become and if it was what Dumbledore intended. Eventually he comforted himself with the fact that it had only happened once, and if it had not happened now then who knows how many times he may have tried to manipulate people before he was alerted to how he was acting. Maybe that was how Dumbledore started, maybe Harry was the first one to tell him that manipulating people was unacceptable?

He didn't know. But he did know that he had to be careful now, because, as Snape had pointed out, he had the potential inside him.

…ooo000ooo…

Four days before the other Hogwarts students returned, Harry was interrupted in his musings by the sound of the portrait hole opening down in the common room.

Getting to his feet, he hurriedly made his way out of the open dormitory door to the balcony, where he could see Professor McGonagall squinting up in his direction from down below.

"Potter?" she called "Please come down, I wish to have a word with you."

Reluctantly, Harry made his way downstairs. The professor watched him the whole way, frowning disapprovingly.

"Have you been eating Potter? Your lack of presence in the Great Hall at mealtimes has been noted."

"I'm fine professor, I've been visiting the kitchens." he said dully.

"Five points from Gryffindor!" she said crossly, and Harry looked up, surprised.

"Surely you know the kitchens are out of bounds for students?" McGonagall said incredulously, then Harry harrumphed as he shook his head. He did actually, but he had honestly forgotten. "Well now you know. I'll expect you in the hall for meals from now on."

"Yes Professor."

"Good. Now Professor Dumbledore would like to speak to you in his office," she continued, not fully noting the fact that Harry was shaking his head "so please make your way there promptly - what do you mean _no_ Potter?" she finally noticed, looking indignant.

"I don't want to speak to him, Professor." he replied simply.

"I'm surprised at you Harry!" She said, looking confused and angry "It's not like you to be impertinent! The headmaster has requested your presence, and so you must go. This is _not _up for discussion."

Harry stared back defiantly. "I don't want to see him professor. I refuse to speak to that man."

"Potter! Ten points from Gryffindor for disrespect! If you do not go to see Professor Dumbledore this minute I will be forced to issue detentions!"

"I don't care about detention." Harry said stubbornly "You can't make me see him."

"I see." McGonagall said stiffly, her lips thinned. "The headmaster told me that you might be difficult. I see I was wrong in telling him that he was mistaken-"

"Oh he did, did he?" Harry burst out angrily "What has he been saying about me?" Harry had visions of the headmaster spreading rumours, like the Daily Prophet, that Harry Potter was mentally imbalanced and not to be trusted. Who knew what he had told everyone!

"Mr Potter-!" McGonagall said furiously

"You know what?" Harry interrupted rudely "I think I will visit the headmaster after all!" and with that, he stormed out the common room, leaving a speechless Professor McGonagall behind him.

…ooo000ooo…

"Harry." the headmaster said tiredly, cutting into Harry's ranting "I merely sent Professor McGonagall to get you because I wanted to bring up an issue with you before term begins. I meant nothing but a warning by telling her you may behave 'difficultly', and I was right, wasn't I? It was to be expected that you wouldn't respond favourably to the idea of meeting me."

Harry took a few deep breaths as he thought this over. He was still out of breath from running up to the headmaster's tower.

"What do you want then?" he said finally.

"To know where we stand. Harry, I know you are angry with me, but I need to know, do you still have the same goals as the Order of the Phoenix?"

"If you're asking me if I'm going to join Voldemort, then the answer is no." Harry said scornfully, and was surprised at the look of relief that briefly crossed the headmaster's face. Did he actually think …

"I don't know if I still want to kill him though." he answered truthfully "I think I do, but I don't want to die."

"Of course not Harry!" Dumbledore replied "Your death is only the most straightforward way of getting rid of that particular Horcrux."

"You mean there are other ways?" Harry began angrily

"No, I'm afraid that so far I have not uncovered any." the headmaster replied sadly "But that is not for lack of trying."

"Right." Harry replied slowly, not sure if he should believe Dumbledore or not.

"So we are agreed that you will continue working for the Order?"

"No!" Harry said indignantly "I'll do what I like and if my goals are the same as the Order's then that's a bonus for you!"

"So then I should not trust you with any information we come across?" Dumbledore said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah right! Because you gave me information before!" Harry snorted sarcastically.

"I gave you the information that I deemed appropriate." Dumbledore said sternly.

"Look," Harry continued angrily "I'm not funding the Order unless I know exactly where the money is going to. You can keep Grimmauld Place, I hate the place anyway. If you give me information, obviously I wouldn't tell anyone on Voldemort's side, and it may be helpful to me if I decide to try to kill Voldemort for you, but-"

"For me Harry?" Dumbledore said softly "Don't you want him dead yourself?"

"Of course I do!" Harry snapped, "But you want _me_ specifically to kill him, whereas I don't care who does it! Anyway, give me the information and I might find it useful. Don't give me the information and we'll never know."

"Very well." the headmaster nodded slowly "But there is one final matter. It seems that you intend to do whatever you wish from now on, regardless of my opinion?"

"That's right!" Harry nodded vigorously

"Then it would be impossible for me to ensure that you are safe and to know where you are at any given time when I think you may be in danger. I would like for you to have a member of the Order with you at all times to keep you safe - Nymphadora Tonks could masquerade as a new student-"

"No!" Harry interrupted "Absolutely not. I won't have anyone following me!"

"You don't trust her?"

"I trust _Tonks_," Harry said emphatically "But I don't trust her to defy you, if you tell her to report back on my every move."

"If I were to give my word-"

"I wouldn't trust you. It's not happening Professor."

Harry turned and left.

…ooo000ooo…

_Dear Harry, _read Hermione's neat handwriting

_**Harry mate you won**__**'**__**t believe what**__**'**__**s happened! **_came Ron's untidy scrawl, and Harry wondered why the two of them were together, and why Ron sounded so friendly._**It**__**'**__**s amazing! I thought they would never ask us, but-**_

_Harry, Dumbledore has let us join the Order!_

Harry's insides turned to ice.

_We were sent portkeys to take us to the headquarters, and we had no idea what was happening-_

_**We arrived in the middle of a meeting by the looks of things -**_

_Harry, Dumbledore told us what happened between you two, and we understand that you__'__re angry that he took your money, and I know its hard, but you've got to see that he thought it was for the best. Don't be angry, we agree that it was wrong of him, but he didn't mean to jeopardise your trust in him and he had a lot of things on his mind with Voldemort returning. How could the Order function without money? It must have just made sense to use the money your father had offered._

_We__'__re all on the same side here, and defeating Voldemort is so important, and you mustn__'__t lose sight of that, no matter what personal issues are going on! Dumbledore was also wrong not to tell you about some things, but really Harry, he has to run the Order and he can__'__t tell everyone all the information in case someone is captured and the information leaked. Half of the Order don__'__t even know we__'__ve joined, for instance._

Harry's hands shook violently. Hermione had no idea of the extent of the truths that Dumbledore had hidden from him.

_Anyway, the reason Dumbledore wanted us to join was to help take care of you. He told us that you__'__re determined to go your own way - which I think is __very__ irresponsible, by the way. I know you get along really well with Tonks and she's a brilliant auror, so I don't see what the problem is. I hope you're not jeopardising your safety just to get back at the headmaster. Of course Ron and I are glad to have been trusted to formally protect you, but would having Tonks around really have been so bad?_

_**Well he knows we**__**'**__**re always with you, so why not us instead? It**__**'**__**s a brilliant idea. Tonks is great and all, but I agree with you Harry, its better off just the three if us.**_

_Also, Ron wanted to say something to your Harry__…_

_**Yeah mate, I**__**'**__**m sorry about everything. I didn**__**'**__**t mean to, but it looks like I**__**'**__**ve practically driven you to Malfoy, at least that**__**'**__**s what Dumbledore hinted. I didn**__**'**__**t really think of the consequences I suppose. **_

"Oh, so Dumbledore's sticking his nose into my business with my friends now is he?" Harry said to himself angrily. He couldn't believe the nerve of the man. Of course he wanted to be friends with Ron, but it looked like the headmaster thought that he would be relieved to ditch Draco as soon as Ron was by his side again, and he must have told Ron that very thing to make him to eager to be friends again as soon as possible.

_**I want to be your friend again, if you**__**'**__**re up for it. Me and Hermione-**_

_Hermione and I, Ron._

_**- we**__**'**__**re here to protect you mate, and not just because Dumbledore told us how important it is. We**__**'**__**re your friends and we really do care about you **_**and **_**Hermione**__**'**__**s drummed it into my head that I shouldn**__**'**__**t let petty arguments get in the way of that. And I see that now.**_

_Anyway Harry, we have to go now. We wish you could officially be an Order member too, but it would be only ceremonial anyway as the whole organisation is practically based around you of course! We can__'__t wait to see you again. We__'__re worried about you, Dumbledore says you__'__ve been avoiding meals and that you won__'__t speak to him. We both understand that you must be upset Harry, but don__'__t worry, we__'__ll be with you soon. Just don__'__t lose sight of the greater good while you__'__re waiting._

_Love,_

_Hermione __**and Ron.**__ xxx_

Harry's quill was practically itching to write out a scathing reply, listing all Dumbledore's sins and how he had managed to deceive Ron and Hermione too now, but he held himself in check for two reasons. One, his friends had no idea that they had just been skilfully manipulated. This was not their fault. Two, Harry needed to take his time to figure out the best method for tackling this problem, and somehow he didn't think that sending his friends long winded explanations by owl was the best effort. No. This needed to be dealt with in person.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry had begun eating in the Great Hall again, and after several days, Dumbledore had made no move to talk to him about Hermione and Ron's sudden promotion. The students were due to arrive at dinner tonight, and Harry was still deciding on his new persona.

For if Harry was not Dumbledore's man, who was he?

Being his own man meant he was more vulnerable. He had to be careful, and suspicious, maybe even paranoid like Snape. He added those words to his mental list of his new characteristics.

It made Harry vulnerable when people found out what upset him, so he would need to guard his emotions, be a closed book. Draco hid his emotions with a blank face or sarcasm. Snape used sarcasm and fear. Harry could do a blank face, he hoped. Sarcasm? Maybe. Cause fear? No. If Harry tried to be intimidating, which he doubted he could, it wouldn't take long for the 'Harry Potter is the next Dark Lord' rumours to start. It had almost happened in second year after all.

He thought over his list with amusement.

_Constant vigilance._

_Good actor._

In summary, he had to be just like Barty Crouch Junior in his fourth year.

…ooo000ooo…

By chance, it was Malfoy who Harry met from the carriages first. He decided to take care of it right away, and pulled him away from his suspicious Slytherin friends.

"What is it?" Malfoy whispered, impatiently tugging his scarf tighter in the cold wind.

"You were right about Dumbledore." Harry stated, watching his expression "He _has _been manipulating me."

Malfoy looked pleased.

"Told you." he said smugly, and resisted the urge to cuff him in the ribs.

"It was worse than I thought though." Harry admitted with a sigh.

"Really? How?" Malfoy looked intrigued.

"Later." Harry caught sight of Ron and Hermione getting out of a carriage up ahead "Look I just need to know if you still want to pretend to be friends?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Malfoy asked, staring at him piercingly with his sharp grey eyes.

"I'm going my own way." Harry said, the words tasting odd in his mouth "Not against Dumbledore, but I'm not going to let him rule my life either." He paused, adding meaningfully "That limit's the favours I can ask of him. I don't think he'd protect you if I asked him to anymore."

"But would you?" Draco asked suddenly

"What?"

"Will you protect me, if he won't?" Malfoy persisted

"I - yes, of course I would! We're friends!" Harry said, before he could stop himself.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"Well - um - not really." Harry said clumsily "But - well, you've been decent enough to me, so I don't see why we couldn't really be."

"So you trust me?" Malfoy asked slyly.

Harry frowned back. "I guess not. Not until you've told everyone you're against Voldemort."

"Then we're not friends." he replied smoothly.

"Not until you've proved it." Harry shot back.

"Maybe after that then." Malfoy replied silkily, and moved rejoined his Slytherins.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry sat with Ron and Hermione at dinner. He waved away their initial questions with promises of 'We'll talk later', and put on a good show of friendship. He didn't want Dumbledore to see he'd hurt him.

He actually spotted the headmaster watching them once or twice, but just as he did when Hermione attempted to tell him off for being 'rude' to the headmaster over the holidays, he made the offender give up by means of a glare.

Ron looked unhappy at this, but didn't say anything, and Harry made the most of their mended friendship by bringing up the Cannons' latest match, and Harry was soon enjoying Ron's usual enthusiastic mood.

Hermione was annoyingly eager to get to the matter in hand however, and they were barely out of the Great Hall when she began to whisper furiously, but Harry shushed her again and led them to the Room of Requirement.

"Harry can we talk now?" she said as soon as he had shut the door behind them.

"Hang on." he said, then cast _muffliato_.

"What was that for?" Ron asked confusedly.

"Don't want to be overheard." Harry replied. _Constant vigilance. _

"But wouldn't the room be warded automatically if you wanted it to be?" Hermione asked confusedly.

Harry shrugged and tried to gloss over his mistake by taking his parents will and the bank letters out of his pockets. _Don't let people see your weaknesses, _he told himself as a reminder.

He handed the parchment roll over to Hermione and she and Ron poured over them. Harry watched them read until Hermione passed them back.

"Do you see why I was upset with Dumbledore now?" he asked calmly.

Hermione nodded hesitantly. "Yes, and it was wrong of him to take your money without your permission, but he was doing what he thought best."

"That doesn't make it right." he was already finding it hard to stick to his resolution not to show his emotions. He didn't really think his friends would sell him out, but controlling his expression and voice tone like this was good practice. He was trying his best to look as blank as Draco would in this situation.

"Harry," Hermione said slowly, as if talking to the mentally impaired "Professor Dumbledore should have asked your permission, but if he hadn't borrowed the money, the Order wouldn't have got as far as they have with Voldemort. You're on the same side as he is, you should work together."

"'Borrowed' implies that the professor intends to pay me back." Harry said coldly "And he hasn't.

"Well I'm sure he's going to at some point." Ron said awkwardly.

"Harry, you're missing the point." Hermione said frustratedly. "The headmaster will pay you back of course, but you need to be mature and realise that there's no point in being angry for the sake of it. What's done is done, and you need to stop not talking to Professor Dumbledore."

"So you think I don't have a right to be angry?" Harry was really struggling now.

"Look, apparently your father expressed wishes to use his inheritance to fund the Order anyway." Hermione said, again with that maddeningly patient air. "There's no point in being angry with the professor."

"The money is mine now though, and it's my permission he should be asking!" Harry snapped "Don't you get that?" he stared back at Hermione's hurt expression and gave up. "Look, what about the fact that he sold my dad's family manor? Don't you think I would have liked something from my family? All the old furniture, the portraits? I could have learnt so much about my family! And how can you justify him hiding the _existence _of my family vault?"

"He told us he was going to tell you when you turned seventeen." Ron shrugged "It's not that weird, I don't get told the particulars of my family's income until then anyway. In fact I don't at all, because Bill's the heir."

"But Dumbledore's not related to me! Even Gringotts said he had no right to take my money or keep information about it from me!" Harry said exasperatedly. "Look, what about Sirius's vault? And Grimmauld Place? No one even told me I was named in the will!"

"I'm sorry Harry, but all I can say is that Dumbledore thought it was for the best!" Hermione said desperately.

"That doesn't give him the right to rule over my life, or anyone else's!" Harry exploded "If your parents died would you be happy with him fiddling their bank accounts? Selling their house?"

Hermione looked on the verge of tears "No, no I wouldn't be happy." she whispered

"Great!" Harry threw his hands in the air in triumph.

"But I would trust him to know what he was doing." she added, more firmly. "I feel awful for saying it Harry, and in any other circumstances I'd already have drafted a letter to several lawyers to you, but we're in the middle of a war. You can't let this divide you from Professor Dumbledore. We need to be united to win this war."

"Argh!" Harry shouted, ripping at his hair, and Hermione stumbled back.

"Hey! There's no need to be like that!" Ron shouted "We're just here to help!"

"Help?!" Harry said incredulously "Help! Ron's he's completely manipulated you two against me! You'll believe whatever he says no matter what I say!"

"Harry, don't over-react. Did you really expect Ron and I to turn down the offer to join the Order? Listen to what we're trying to tell you, we _understand_, but the war is more important right now."

"Professor Dumbledore said that you might be angry that we're in the Order and you're not. But Harry mate, we'll tell you all about-" Ron began.

"Angry?" Harry laughed maniacally "I told him straight out that I wanted nothing to do with his precious Order!"

"You _didn't_!" Hermione exclaimed "Harry! How could you! How are we supposed to defeat Voldemort without you!?"

"Oh so he told you did he?" Harry snapped "How he manipulated me into the person I am now? So that I would give my life to 'the cause'?"

"Don't be ridiculous Harry!" Hermione said desperately "Dumbledore would never-"

"But if he did, you would just say it was for the best, wouldn't you?" Harry snapped, and turned his back on them.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry woke up on the first day of term to find his dormitory empty. It looked as if Ron had put a silencing spell on his bed curtains in a gesture of petty revenge so that he would be late for his first day of classes.

He checked the time and cursed. He wasn't late for classes yet, but he'd missed breakfast, and if he dawdled any longer he so would be facing professor McGonagall's wrath.

He managed to get halfway to class before he spotted his friends at the other end of a corridore. _Ex-friends, _he thought glumly, hanging back on purpose. He made sure he sat as far away from them both as he could in all his classes, but although he could ignore Ron's glares if he didn't look at him, it was hard to avoid Hermione when she kept trying to speak to him.

When he entered the great hall at lunch she actually grabbed his shoulder and forced him to look at her.

"Harry! We need to talk, I don't want to fight!" her eyes were swimming with tears and she looked truly devastated.

Harry refused to let emotion onto his face. "Let me know," he said calmly "when you've decided to take my side instead of Dumbledore's."

"Harry we _are _on your side!" she whispered

"Yeah?" he cocked an eyebrow "Then why did you agree to spy on me for him?"

He turned his back on her and marched over to the Slytherin table.

"What the hell," Malfoy said immediately as Harry sat down beside him "was that about?"

He said the words with relish. He'd watched the trio interact from across the hall, and he'd been dying to find out what it was that they'd done to make Potter treat them the way his father would treat an uppity mudblood. The question of what Potter had found out about Dumbledore had been ringing in his mind since Harry's mysterious hints yesterday, and now it looked like the Weasel and the Mudblood had some part in it.

"Tell me!" he commanded impatiently, when Potter merely looked depressed and didn't reply.

"It's a long story." Harry said miserably. "I don't know if I can take going through it again."

"You said you would tell me!" Draco said accusingly.

Harry sighed.

"Out with it!"

"Basically, Dumbledore's been taking money out of my account, and he's sold my family homes and heirlooms without me knowing."

There was a moment of silence, and then Draco said "Are you serious?"

Harry looked up to see that Malfoy looked horrified. "Yeah. And it looks like you're the only one who sees where I'm coming from. He's brainwashed Ron and Hermione into thinking I should just get over myself and forget about it."

"_Forget _about it?" Draco hissed "He _sold _hundreds of years of _priceless_ family history, he had NO right!"

Harry could have hugged him.

"Thanks." he said quietly

"For what?"

"Agreeing with me."

"And that, Golden Boy, is why you need to get yourself some goons." Draco said loudly, throwing an arm around Crabbe, who looked up like a startled troll. "They always agree with you."

Harry sniggered and dug into his porridge.

"Are you going to try and get them back?" Draco asked after a while, and Harry looked up in surprise

"Do you think I can? I mean all my family's stuff has been sold on to people, I can't just ask for it back. Can I?" he asked hopefully, and Draco shook his head looking rueful.

"Well…technically you might be able to, if you could find out exactly who bought what and hired a lawyer who would have to go through each individual case … I mean you didn't really give your permission, but they bought the stuff legally…" Draco's voice trailed off.

Harry stared down at the tablecloth in disappointment. He didn't really want to admit it to himself, but if Draco had been able to get him back his family's possessions, he would have forgiven him for all his crimes in a heartbeat.

"It would be almost impossible to get everything back." Draco concluded "But you could try for the houses."

"What?"

"They'd be a lot easier to track down, and they're only _really _supposed to go to heirs of your family - unless the Potters did things differently from normal purebloods-" Draco sniffed "so you could have a case there. You'd have to be careful though, use only the best lawyers. I can use my family's contacts to -"

"Draco - thank you thank you thank you!" Harry grabbed his arm, aware that a full on hug would be inappropriate.

"It would take a while though!" Draco almost squeaked with alarm.

"Why are you so eager to help me though, that's the only thing I don't get?" Harry asked, remembering that their friendship was supposed to be false.

"Harry, you really don't know anything about pureblood society, don't you? It's a huge offence to do something like Dumbledore has. Your family heirlooms are precious, bloodlines and family are beyond important. It's not just an insult to you, it's an insult to purebloods. And Dumbledore, as a pureblood, has acted as an embarrassment to us all.

…ooo000ooo…

It was looking to be a long and lonely term ahead without Ron and Hermione. Harry knew if he could only make them see the truth, everything would be alright. But their unrelenting trust in Dumbledore almost had his anger boiling over at every turn.

It comforted him that at least they were doing a terrible job of keeping him safe, or as Harry liked to call it 'spying and reporting back to Dumbledore'. He avoided them effortlessly; in class he glared at Hermione, making her eyes fill with tears, and she would turn away and find someone else to sit with. All he had to do to get rid of Ron was have Draco Malfoy with him in the corridors and in many classes as possible.

He could see how much it hurt his friends that he was choosing to be with Draco rather than them, but in truth he found Malfoy to have a very refreshing view on things. Although Harry didn't tell Draco any potentially useful information for Death Eaters, he could tell him the basics, and Malfoy readily believed that Dumbledore would do anything to manipulate Harry. He was also scornful of Ron an Hermione for abandoning Harry so easily, and although Harry knew that he that he disliked Ron and Hermione anyway, it was miles better than listening to Hermione's voice in his head telling him that they thought they were acting for Harry's own good.

So what if Draco was biased, it was good to hear someone agreeing with him for once.

After having Draco around for an extended amount of time, Harry began to notice other repeating occurrences apart from increasingly vicious jibes towards Dumbledore and his ex-best friends. First of all, Ginny Weasley suddenly seemed to have finally overcome her habit of disappearing every time Harry entered a room. At first, he had wondered, with a sinking feeling, if she had perhaps not been as put off as he had thought she was by his hurtful words to her on the platform, but then he noticed that she didn't seem all to interested in Harry himself at all.

Rather than repeatedly catching her eye by accident due to her staring, or constantly bumping into her when he turned around as he used to, Ginny seemed more interested in joining his conversations, particularly with Draco.

She constantly interjected everything he said to the Slytherin with some inconsequential comment of her own and developed a new habit of asking Draco his opinion on every topic that came up in conversation. She would bump into Harry and Draco in corridors, and latch onto them for a few minutes before they parted for their separate classes, and at lunchtimes when Harry and Draco weren't eating at their respective house tables (which these days was seldom), she would walk with them down to his and Draco's usual lunch spot at the lake before leaving them to join her own various groups of friends. Whatever Ginny was up to, Harry thought to himself, she was certainly going more subtly about it than in the past.

Harry, despite not wanting Ginny as a girlfriend, couldn't quite bring himself to believe that Ginny had a romantic interest in Draco Malfoy. It was possible, after all, that she was simply intrigued by the idea of getting to know a Slytherin better - it wasn't as though many Slytherins would have a civilised conversation with a Gryffindor after all. Additionally, some part of him was confused as to how to feel about the situation. He was … less distrustful of Draco now, but he didn't feel enough trust to let him get his hands on Ginny.

But then again, what did it matter to him? He had turned her down, and she had moved on. Now that he and Ron weren't speaking, he couldn't even claim brotherly concern, and after his unfriendly words to her on Platform 9 ¾ he certainly couldn't put down his feelings about it all to concern for his friend. Finally he decided that it was none of his business, but out of respect for Ginny - she was some kind of friend after all, if not as close as they might have been - he resolved to ask Draco what his intentions were. He was confident he had nothing to worry about, as Draco was with Pansy and he couldn't see Ginny wanting to be 'the other woman'. He hoped. He had to admit Ginny was no longer the blushing first year she had been in the past.

Another thing Harry was constantly aware of, was the reactions of other students to their… partnership. No one dared utter the word friendship within their hearing range; indeed Harry and Draco never referred to themselves as 'we', but as well as whispers and gossip from the Gryffindors, there were several pointed remarks from Draco's Slytherin cronies about keeping up his reputation as 'lord of Slytherin' or whatever they called it. He was sure there had to be some kind of title attributed to the most popular or influential Slytherin, with the way they spoke of Draco's reputation, as if they all had shares in a (currently failing) business. When he mentioned his impressions to Draco, he had burst into laughter - something which always caught Harry off-guard - he just wasn't used to this side of Malfoy.

"Very perceptive Potter!" he cackled "I didn't realise how it must look to an outsider."

The two boys settled down on a sunny patch of grass by the lake to have their lunch: a stack of chicken legs Harry had gotten from Dobby in the kitchen.

"What - they _are _betting money on your status?"

"Not money…and its not that formal." Draco straightened up to explain, a smile still lingering on his face "Its not like that…its - well its how things work in Slytherin. I suppose it's become a way of life for us, without us realising how silly it must sound to someone like you - not that'd we'd care what you think." he added with a smirk

"What do you mean - about how things work in Slytherin?" Harry was intrigued.

"Our friendships determine our status. My father, as respectable, high ranking ministry official and a just as high-ranking follower of _Him _meant that I was just as respected as he - in my own circle, here at school - in Slytherin. The only people here who could trump me would be the Dark Lord's heir himself - who doesn't exist - and any child of my aunt Bellatrix - again, non existent. Thank god." He shuddered at the thought of Bellatrix' having a baby.

"So I was top dog" he continued "apart from the older ones, they naturally have higher status, for now at least. Anyone who I was friends with was immediately given a similar high status, meaning they don't get pushed around by anyone else and other people look up to them."

"But outside of school, doesn't that mean your status meant nothing?" Harry asked

"To real Death Eaters, yes I suppose…" Draco drifted off into thought for a moment. "I used to think _He'd _respect me more than some of them just for being my father's son, but now I realise…Well I think I always knew, deep down really, that it wouldn't happen like that."

"But anyway, my status at school does mean that I'll be judged on that by ex-schoolmates once I leave school, until I carve out a real reputation of my own in the adult world. Like my father. Until I do that though, my school status would make me more likely to get to high places. For instance, say an ex-Slytherin - of any age - owned a quidditch team, and I wanted to be on it. They'd hire me above anyone else whose school status was lesser than mine - which in the past was everyone."

"It seems a bit … serious, this status thing." Harry admitted, unable to imagine this sort of ranking in Gryffindor

"It's more embedded, more subconscious than I'm making it sound. We don't really talk about it at all, it just…happens."

"Oh." said Harry and then another thought occurred to him "But now that you're fathers…" _in prison,_ he finished in his head

"My status went down the drain." Malfoy seemed to understand the unsaid.

"But," Harry was confused "You don't _seem _less … respected."

"I was forced to either accept my lowered status or make myself a new one. Hence the reason I attacked you on the train at the beginning of term, even though I realised it would damage my chances at protection from you."

Draco paused for a bit of chicken "You're like…the Dark Lord's nemesis, hence Slytherin as a whole hates you. Every time I knock you around I gain status. At the time, I was more sure of gaining my status back than gaining your protection, so I just had to attack you. Not that that made everything just go back to normal."

"So what did?" Harry asked, intrigued.

"This did. Me pretending to spy on you, although you know that's not the truth, _they _don't." he gestured vaguely to the Great Hall, meaning the other Slytherins.

Harry shifted uncomfortable and tried to look innocent.

"I'm not quite back to the top yet though. I'm actually going lower seeing as I'm not reporting back any information. But it's better than us staging fights anyway. They're all waiting with bated breath for me to betray you and tell your secrets to the school - or to Him."

At this, Harry felt very uneasy. At Malfoy's questioning glance, he thought up something to say that sounded right.

"I don't like it. You could just tell your friends you're still pretending to be my friend, when you finally do decide to tell everyone you've turned your back on Voldemort."

"I know." Malfoy said simply

"What? But -!"

"Shut up Potter." Malfoy snapped coldly, and Harry stiffened. It had been a long time - weeks - since Malfoy had spoken to him in this tone.

"Listen to me now. You don't trust me, and I _understand _that. So _you _need to understand that I don't trust you. I'm not going to burn my bridges before I know I can trust you with - everything. With my life even, the way I can trust my friends at the moment."

"But you can't." Harry quickly said "They only want you for you money, your 'status', like you said."

"And you only want me for my loyalty to your cause."

"No." Harry said, knowing this was his cue to say something to bring Malfoy closer to his side.

"What?" Malfoy frowned

"No. That's not true. So far, this - deal, it's been better than I thought it would be. We've actually had a laugh. I thought it would all be you skulking around causing trouble, but - " Harry waved a hand to keep Draco from protesting "it's actually been alright."

He ignored the incredulous expression on Malfoy's face. "If you were anyone else, we'd be … friends by now. And a friend means that I would protect you no matter what you did, as long as I could trust you were with me - on my side. But I can't. So the only thing that's holding me back from giving you almost unconditional protection is the fact that you aren't prepared to take a leap of faith. Sometimes you have to take a risk for friendship."

There was a long silence. Harry refused to look away from Malfoy, who was shredding the leaves of some unfortunate plant beside him, staring at the ground.

Finally he spoke.

"What a Gryffindor-like speech."

"Is that all you have to say!?" Harry snapped

"No. I don't know Potter, this is my life we're talking about here."

"Well listen up." Harry felt frustrated and angry, "This 'deal' is putting more than me at risk. If I let you carry on just 'hanging around' with me, you could overhear something, something that would endanger other people as well as me. And I'm not putting anyone else at risk. I've already pretty much waved goodbye to Ron and Hermione, and yes that's Dumbledore's fault at the moment, but at the beginning I let it happen, for you. So far its been me doing all the sacrificing while you play double agent. I'm not having it. You have to choose."

Draco looked up "But I don't know…" he looked panicky

"Well here it is." Harry stated. He needed to do this, he needed more people on the light side to be nicer to Draco for this to work. "I'm offering protection and friendship, if you can really prove yourself. If not, you can throw your lot in with the Slytherins, go back to the way things were."

Draco stared blank faced across the lake.

"Do I get time to think about it?"

"If you have to think about it I think its pretty clear where your loyalties lie."

There was a long silence.

"I don't want to be a Death Eater, but I also don't want to be go the run." Draco said slowly, and met Harry's eyes "But the only way to escape that is to join your side. But to do that I have to trust that you really will protect me - from other Slytherins, even against the Dark Lord himself. And I'll be waving goodbye to my inheritance. I've accepted that - it was the first thing I considered. But I'll also lose all my friends-"

"Something which I've already had to go through because of you -" Harry cut in loudly

"And I'll be in constant danger - which I'd be in no matter what side I'm on." Draco continued, ignoring him, then fell silent for another minute

"I believe that you will protect me, but not above everyone else. That's reasonable I suppose." he deliberated "I've got enough family valuables with me at school to provide enough money for a while, if I sell them. I don't want to lose my friends though." he contemplated it a while longer

"If they're any kind of friends they'll support you no matter what." Harry said, feeling the irony.

"Potter you're such a Gryffindor its not even funny." Malfoy smiled wryly "The real world doesn't work like that. Look at your own friends, where are they?"

Harry didn't answer.

Malfoy sighed "Then my choice seems pretty clear, for a Gryffindor anyway."

"And?" Harry prompted

"I'm with you." Malfoy looked…irritated "But I'm not happy about it!" He added, with just a hint of a smirk so Harry knew he was joking

"When are you going to tell them anyway?" Harry said grumpily, although really he was fighting a triumphant smile "The truth - about why you're hanging around with me?"

"Soon," Draco said, his smile fading "Just as soon as I can think of a way to do it so that you'll know for certain that I'm not playing double agent - and so they will too. And hopefully not rip me apart for it." he miserably.

…ooo000ooo…

Every night, Draco lay awake, his head spinning with the complex intricacies of the web of lies he had weaved. He had no idea what had happened to his life; since the Dark Lord's return his family had foisted new expectations and responsibilities upon him - or was it just because he had been growing older?

There had been less emphasis on his schoolwork, more on marrying well and on learning the Dark Arts. He had resented the lack of affection he had been shown at home, and it had only grown worse when he had been summoned and the Dark Lord had given him his task.

After he had been given his mission, when he visited Lucius in his cell, his father had given him no more than a nod, such as he would give other Death Eaters, and his mother had acted the same as ever although with even less affection than usual, if that was even possible.

It was as if he was no longer their son but a fellow Death Eater, some work comrade of Lucius's.

Since his father's incarceration, he had been left with his cold and distant mother.

Being treated like an adult did not make Draco happy, as he had found out. He lay now staring up at the emerald canopy of his four-poster. He rubbed his hands over his face, clenching his teeth, and turned over in bed, unable to sleep yet again. His thoughts kept pulling back to his lies.

When he had decided the best way to breach Potter's defences was to befriend him, he had been sure of his actions. Now, he was beginning to wonder if this act - that he was under Potter's protection - would really work. His uncertainty lay in the fact that joining Potter's side really was beginning to look more desirable, now that he had had a taste of it. On Potter's side, he lived in a world of innocence, where the Dark Lord would be defeated and life would go back to normal. Where he could have friends he could confide in, if he would only allow Potter to get close enough to him. Where he didn't have to lie, and where he was safe and doing the right thing was easy.

He'd thought that by telling Potter the truth about his feelings for becoming a Death Eater his lie would be more believable. Now however he felt naked around the other boy and he felt as if he was deceiving himself more than anyone else.

As much as he hated himself for it, he had always envied Potter's fame and popularity, having had to compete with it for years. Now that he knew the boy more personally though, he had made one shocking discovery after another; Harry was not acting. He really was as humble and modest as he made out, and he really hated his fame. Draco, having acted his character out his whole life could barely conceive being so open with everyone. He had been brought up to sneer and laugh rather than cry, to turn up his nose rather than show weakness. His poker face was impeccable. Pansy knew him well, but only because she too was a high-society pureblood and could read into his action as an outsider would never be able to, because she was acting out the same script. Harry was a new phenomenon. He had never met anyone as…good, anyone who really was as selfless and loyal as they made out. Harry was a goody-two-shoes, worse than Granger in many ways, and he didn't even realise it. This irritated Draco beyond belief.

He no longer hated Potter - the boy was a completely different ball game to what Draco had thought he was. He and Potter weren't even on the same level. It wasn't that he believed himself superior, but the fact was that the world Potter lived in was one that bore no resemblance to Draco's world. In his opinion, Potter was still living a child's life, shielded from reality. The way the world really worked had been revealed to Draco months ago and now he was struggling to come to terms with it. Potter had lived through many horrors and had more to come, most likely, but he still felt protected and safe, whatever he said, whatever he had discovered about Dumbledore, Draco could see it. Potter relied on others for comfort. He trusted. He loved. He was naïve, naïve enough to trust someone like Draco. Draco knew that to be safe meant to be self-reliant. As long as your wellbeing lay in other hands, you were at risk, and Draco knew that well now. If he ever was his true self around Potter, Potter would detest him.

And so here he was, lying to Potter. But the lie was starting to look an awful lot like reality, and he now felt he was lying to Pansy, to his family. He didn't know were his loyalties lay, but the balancing act he was engaged in couldn't last forever. It was practical to deceive Potter, safer. He knew he would be safe, albeit perhaps not happy if he went along with the Dark Lord's wishes. Living in Potter's world, being on the good side made him happy and he felt safe… if one ignored the fact that the Dark Lord would undoubtedly hunt him out in the end and cause him to die painfully and slowly.

The 'other' side was where Draco's loyalties lay. He was almost certain of it. It made sense, for goodness sakes! What was wrong with him. _Stop doubting!_ he thought to himself, scornfully.

However the moment he tried to convince himself, Draco's mind spun in turmoil. He didn't know who he trusted, if anyone, or what he was going to do. Once more, for another night, he resolved to put the decision he must make back. He would decide another day. Who knew, the situation might resolve itself.

…ooo000ooo…

Hermione tried, once again not to cry as Harry glared at her and made off for his next class with Draco Malfoy smirking at his side.

"Don't worry." A reassuring voice said at her side, and she turned to smile sadly at Ron.

"If he'd just _listen _to what we have to say…" she murmured unhappily

"As long as Malfoy's with him we don't stand a chance." Ron growled, watching Harry and Malfoy through narrowed eyes.

"In the end, we're on his side more than the headmasters - oh Ron, it's just not right that we're talking about sides! Harry needs to realise that we're all on the same side here."

"Hermione the bloke did get rid of all his family's stuff." Ron said reasonably

"I know, and _I'd _be furious too, but he needs to take a step back and look at the big picture."

"Maybe he will after a while."

"If he would just stop trying to see enemies wherever he looks…Draco Malfoy isn't good for him."

"I could have told him that from the beginning." Ron said angrily "Look at that," he gestured towards Harry's table "You wouldn't even know they've hated each other for about six years!"

"He doesn't seem to realise that just because Professor Dumbledore overlooked Harry before borrowing his family's money, it doesn't make him an enemy. It must all just be a misunderstanding, and that doesn't make the headmaster in the right, but - what is it Ron?" she stopped, noticing Ron was shifted uncomfortably.

"Hermione…" he replied slowly. "I…well, do you think Harry could be right?"

"What do you mean?" she said indignantly "Don't tell me you think Dumbledore's evil too!"

"Harry didn't say Dumbledore was evil!" Ron pointed out "He just made out that he didn't have Harry's best interests at heart!"

"Of course he-!" Hermione began, but Ron interrupted.

"No, just listen okay? Dumbledore's been fighting this war since Harry was born! And you know that prophecy? Well everyone's saying that Harry's the 'Chosen One' or whatever, and what if it's true?"

"Ron, prophecies are a load of rubbish!" she scoffed

"But if Dumbledore believes its true, doesn't it make sense that he would want control of the one who can kill Voldemort? I mean he'd have known about the prophecy from the beginning and he's had all this time to think of what to do - I don't mean he would control Harry really, but Harry might see it that way-"

"Ron think of what you're saying!" Hermione said pompously "Dumbledore would never-"

"Being a teacher doesn't make someone perfect and always right!" Ron said incredulously "When are you going to get that in your head!"

Suddenly a fifth year Hufflepuff girl appeared at Ron's shoulder.

"Hey, you're Ron Weasley!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah…" he replied, baffled

"I loved your party!" she exclaimed, bouncing and clapping her hands excitedly "Everyone's been talking about it for so long - I told my cousins at home about how great it was in my letters - wait till I told them I spoke to you! How did you get the teacher's hair for the Polyjuice potion?" she said breathlessly.

"Well. I-" Ron began, a grin spreading across his face, but Hermione cut him off.

"It was an extremely irresponsible and childish idea! An Ron regrets losing his prefect badge over something so silly!"

"No I don't!" Ron said, turning red "And it _was _a brilliant party!"

"It was a silly, childish thing to get in trouble for!" Hermione hissed

"Well everyone _I've _spoke to says it was amazing." said the Hufflepuff girl stoutly.

…ooo000ooo…

Ron stared wistfully across the common room at Hermione, who was sitting with Parvati and Lavender. She'd done something to her hair; her wild ringlets had been tamed, and now fell elegantly down her back. Whatever she and her dorm mates were talking about, Ron couldn't help feeling gratitude towards them: clearly their fashion tips had a positive effect on Hermione.

He just wished he had the guts to talk to her.

"_Wow Hermione,__"_he'd say _"__What did you do to your hair, it looks amazing! It really suits you!__"_

The thing was, these words only ever sounded good in his head, and whenever he decide to voice such thoughts, he always realised how silly and fake they sounded at the last minute and chickened out.

Ron had been vainly hoping for so long now that Hermione would decide that she had feelings for him and ask him out. It seemed cowardly, but if he asked, he was sure it would ruin their friendship. Hermione was good with words, he knew if she was the one to say it, that she would say it right, and they wouldn't have to worry about awkwardness afterwards, because of course he would say yes.

There had been times when Ron was certain that Hermione liked him as more than a friend, but recently she had been growing more distant, and even he couldn't fail to realise that his chance with Hermione was slowly slipping away.

He wished he hadn't shouted at her about the party, it had only made things worse. He'd made several tentative apologies, which she'd finally accepted. Unusually, she also admitted that she'd lashed out at him about the party a little unfairly because she was upset about him defending Harry about Dumbledore, but Ron had wanted to even get into _that_, so he'd just shrugged.

He wanted to talk to Harry more about Dumbledore. He'd been so excited to be an Order member (very much against his mother's wishes) that he hadn't really thought about how Dumbledore had been acting strangely sad and regretful when he'd spoken about Harry. In fact, Ron thought, it had sounded exactly as if Dumbledore had turned to them because he couldn't handle Harry himself. The last thing Ron wanted to do was to keep Harry in line for the headmaster, reporting back every time Harry did something risky. It just wasn't what friends did.

Dumbledore's reasoning sounded fishy when put up against Harry's protests of money unfairly taken - because it _had _been unfairly taken, and unlike Hermione's persistent reasoning, being Professor Dumbledore did not make all a person's actions right. Oh she denied that of course, but Ron knew Hermione well enough to see that deep inside she still looked with complete trust towards certain authoritative figures like the headmaster and Professor McGonagall.

Nevertheless, Harry was still choosing Malfoy over Ron. He couldn't stand another minute of that ferret smirking at him from beside Harry, who seemed to condone it. If Harry could be bothered to even pretend he wanted him back, then he might hold out the olive branch, but until then…

His mind flicked back to Hermione. The more he thought about it, the more the decision firmed in his mind. The time had come for action.

…ooo000ooo…

Professor Snape's Defence classes remained the bane of Harry's life. Placed beside Malfoy in what both boys were convinced was a (misguided) effort to provoke a fight, they tried to act reasonably hostile (Malfoy still didn't want Snape reporting anything unusual back to Voldemort yet) but Snape, probably disheartened by the lack of fireworks, wasn't satisfied with that.

"Today," Snape swooped down the steps from his study upon his class "We will be focussing on team work."

The professor glided across the classroom.

"In a dual against multiple opponents," he lectured in a low voice "It is important to know that someone 'has your back'. Get into groups of six."

While the class shuffled among themselves he raised his voice, continuing "You will all see where you're classmate's intrinsic loyalties lie, when they are put under pressure. So shall your friendships be tested. Unfortunately…" his eyes rested on Harry, who was moving towards the nearest group of Gryffindors "Some cannot be trusted. Potter - you will fight with Malfoy against…" a slow smirk spread nastily across his sallow face "let me see…Nott, Zabini, Parkinson and…oh why not - Weasley! Get into position!"

Harry felt a churning sensation in his stomach. Whatever he had told Malfoy, he was not at all sure Ron would not just leave him to his fate with the Slytherins - aka his new friends, as Ron called them, and protect himself. There was no doubt the Slytherins would turn on he and Ron - Draco was still undercover, he wouldn't risk himself in front of Snape. In any case, siding with Harry in a duel where Draco was all but being asked to humiliate him was a bit much when he was only supposed to be casually spying on Harry to see what information he might be lucky enough to pick up. _No_, he turned to see Malfoy carefully avoiding his eyes, _Malfoy wouldn't risk it_.

The Slytherins were the first on the podium, positioned in a half circle facing Harry and Ron as they climbed up the steps.

"Now now!" Professor Snape chided his Slytherins good naturedly "Draco - your part is to protect Potter - stand behind him" the professor motioned as Draco moved into place.

"Potter!" he snapped "turn to your left slightly so that Draco can cover the area to your right!" Harry moved into the position with a feeling of dread - he couldn't even see Malfoy out the corner of his eye now.

"Weasley - here is your chance to show off your duelling prowess!" Snape smirked "Stand in front of Parkinson, Nott and Zabini!"

Ron and Harry were surrounded, facing each other, their backs to the Slytherins. Harry met Ron's eye, and Ron nodded slightly and he almost sighed with relief. They would protect each other's backs, a team - for now.

"Now…shall we make things more interesting?" Snape looked as if Christmas had come early when he saw the sickened look on Ron's face that this comment provoked.

"Miss Bullstrode…why don't you join Mr Malfoy? I daresay Potter could use the extra protection." Harry felt a wave of humiliation. Two against five now- and if there were more Slytherins in the class, he was sure there would be more. Snape wouldn't rest until he was publicly butchered. He just _knew _Snape wanted the class to see Harry humiliated.

"On three then!" Snape announced "One-" he said, then paused as the Slytherins attacked.

Pansy threw a slicing hex at Ron's back at the same time that Harry pulled Ron towards him and shouted "_Protego!"_

"_Protego!"_ Ron shouted at Bulstrode and Malfoy, and Nott opted for throwing a tickling hex at Ron. As Ron crumpled to the ground giggling, Harry felt a thrill of fear and adrenaline - there were attackers in front and behind - too many to take on. Instinctively he threw a stunner over his shoulder and heard someone stumble, and used another _Protego_ as Zabini and Parkinson raised their wands. Harry didn't know the hexes they used but they thankfully bounced off his shield. Nott threw another tickling hex.

"Buck up Theo!" Pansy snapped, and threw another slicing hex at Harry's neck while he shouted "_Finite!" _at Ron who was still in convulsions on the floor. Harry ducked, and sent a stunner her way, but behind him he heard Bulstrode shout "_Petrificus Totalus_!" and he threw himself to the side just in time, looking up to see Malfoy above him, wand raised. Ron was busy duelling Nott.

Harry scrambled to his feet, shouting "_stupefy!"_, but Malfoy had already dodged to the side, giving him time. Bulstrode tried _diffindo! _now, but she misfired, her hex flying towards Malfoy who was facing the other way. "_Protego!" _Harry shouted without thinking, moving closer to Malfoy. Harry saw Malfoy's teeth clench and realised what he had done. However he had no time to see if Snape had noticed his actions.

Ron however, looked angry, but sent a stunner at Parkinson who responded with her own shield charm.

"_Reducto!" _Zabini shouted, and Harry's wand was pointed the other way at Bullstrode, who attacked at the same time.

"_Protego!" _Malfoy shouted suddenly, grabbing Harry by the elbow, out of the way of Bullstrode and deflecting Zabini's potentially bone-shattering hex. Pansy, not noticing her boyfriend's sudden change of sides which had Nott, Zabini and Bulstrode gaping like fish out of water, began to throw hex after hex at Ron, who quickly shouted "_Protego! "_and backed away to where Harry and Malfoy were standing. "_Stupefy!" _Harry shouted, and Nott went down. Draco took Bulstrode down with another stunner and Ron threw a _Petrificus Totalus _at Zabini and _Impedimenta_ at Pansy.

There was a ringing silence in the classroom.

Harry stood, flanked by Draco and Ron, all three wands raised as Pansy began to stir among the fallen Slytherins.

"Enough!" Snape shouted into the silence, making the entire audience jump.

"Weasley!" I instructed you to work with the others, not Potter and Malfoy! Twenty points from Gryffindor!" Snape's eyed rested on Harry and Malfoy, a flicker of something Harry couldn't decipher in them. He couldn't take points from them, not when they had followed the rules and stuck together, and he wouldn't take points from his own house because Malfoy had joined the other Slytherins at first. Finally he spoke:

"Twenty points from Gryffindor Potter, for lack of creativity in you spell work."

…ooo000ooo…

"They already know!" Draco groaned miserably "There's no need to state anything explicitly!"

"Yes there is!" Harry said sharply "For me! You agreed!"

Draco pushed his hands through his already dishevelled hair, and Harry was glad Ginny wasn't there to swoon, as he had heard her and Romilda Vane giggling over this very subject at the Gryffindor table at dinner the night before. However Draco only groaned again in response to Harry's words.

"You should be convinced by now! That _reducto _was aimed at your heart, I saved your life!" He spoke in a petulant voice, his face hidden in his arms, his knees pulled up under his chin.

Harry's heart gave an odd little jump as he stared at Malfoy, who looked utterly miserable. That was true, Draco had _instinctively _protected Harry from his friends, even though he clearly had planned not to.

It looked like he was making progress. Ideally, he needed to be sure that Draco honestly did like Harry, but really he only had to convince Draco that joining Harry for real was actually a good idea.

The two were sitting in their usual lunchtime spot by the lake under the tree which would forever remind Harry of Snape's worst memory and, ironically, his fathers bullying and prejudiced side.

"For someone who already agreed to do this you seem awfully upset that half your job is done!" Harry said, trying to look suspicious

"Oh shut it Potter!" Malfoy snapped "I've given up that you'll ever understand how my mind works."

"Well so far it looks as if you were trying to worm your way out of telling them all the truth!" Harry said hotly

"No! I just didn't want it to come out in such a Gryffindor way! Protecting Harry fucking Potter - and not just for show - out of my 'intrinsic loyalties" - I could fucking gut Snape alive!"

Harry felt a swell of laughter building up, but hurriedly swallowed it. For some reason he barely doubted that vain Malfoy was telling the truth now.

…ooo000ooo…

"Hi," Hermione jogged over towards Theo outside Snape's classroom as soon as Ron had stormed off and Harry and Draco had left together. "Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly.

"I'm fine," Theo said distractedly, staring after Harry and Draco "_He _might not be, though."

"What do you mean?" she asked as they started for the library

"Well the other Slytherins are going to want to know what the hell Draco is playing at." Theo replied "In our house, we just don't turn against one another - at least in public. Unless there's a really good reason. Draco doesn't have a good enough reason, and he sided with Harry Potter of all people, against his own house, his best friends. Never mind in front of Snape. He's a Death Eater you know - Snape."

"Oh -what?" Hermione tried to sound shocked, and blushed as Theo laughed

"Hermione, you're a terrible liar! I take it you already know then? Don't worry, I won't ask any more questions!"

"Sorry." Hermione said humbly "But yes, I probably shouldn't say anymore."

"It's all right." Theo reassured her "But anyway, I'm not saying Draco is into the same things as his father-" he gave her a meaningful look "But if Snape tells Mr Malfoy about this, he's not going to be happy."

"I'm sure Malfoy will be fine." she replied "But anyway, I wanted to let you know how glad I am that you wouldn't curse Harry with anything dangerous, even when Pansy got angry with you. Thank you for doing that." Hermione blushed a little as she said it.

"No problem." Theo glanced at her "But you do realise that the curses the others were using shouldn't have been allowed? At least not in the classroom, Snape should have stepped in when Reducto was first used - imagine if that had hit someone in the head!"

Hermione shivered.

The pair studied quietly in the library for a short while, but Theo wanted to get back to Slytherin to check that Draco hadn't been ambushed so they broke up earlier than usual. They were only in the library for twenty minutes at most, but Theo seemed distracted the whole time, but Hermione supposed that she would be too, if Harry had done something similar.

She said goodbye to Theo reluctantly and left him tidying away his notes as she returned to the common room to resume her studying alone.

As soon as Harry entered the common room, he made a beeline straight for her and she hopefully moved her books from the seat beside her in a welcoming gesture.

"What are the other Slytherins making of what happened in the duel?" she asked immediately as he sat down in the chair awkwardly.

"Well Draco was going to tell everyone he's swapped sides soon anyway," Harry said slowly "so he's more embarrassed about the way it came out than anything. But I think he'll be able to smooth things over though, because he didn't seem too worried about heading back to his common room alone."

"What do you mean 'smooth things over'" Hermione asked suspiciously

"Draco wants to tell them all what side he's really on in his own way," Harry shrugged "so I suppose he'll tell them it's all part of his plan. He'll tell everyone the truth soon though!" he added at Hermione's raised eyebrow.

"_If _it's the truth." she said cynically, and Harry didn't reply for a while.

"Look Hermione," he said finally "can we just agree to disagree? About Draco and Dumbledore?" It killed Harry to say it; he was still angry at his friends, but he needed to attempt some kind of reconciliation.

"I just don't understand how you can think that Dumbledore-" she said hotly, but then stopped as Harry raised his hand.

"We can discuss it another time. I just need to know you're not spying on me and reporting back to Dumbledore?"

"_What_?" she exclaimed "You can't really-" she stopped herself this time. "Is it really that bad?" she said quietly.

Harry nodded, and she swallowed.

"It's not that I don't believe you Harry, it's just a lot to take in, especially when it's you who've been changing, not Dumbledore."

"I've been changing because of what I've found out about Dumbledore!" Harry snapped, then reined himself in. "Sorry. I want to talk about it some time, but I'm still angry with you." Hermione looked upset and he sighed. "Look, you don't know everything I've found out, but for now I want to make up with you. Just promise me that you're not reporting back to him?"

"Of course not Harry." she said, choked. "We can't even attend meetings while we're at school, so we wouldn't even be expected to speak to him regularly. We're just supposed to be on our guard, and he only asked that we go to him if we think you're putting yourself in immediate danger. I thought you'd know that if it came down to it, we're with you. Ron and I have every intention of telling you anything we find out in the meetings."

"You would?"

"Harry," her eyes were brimming with tears "we're _friends_. Just because we have disagreements-"

Harry squirmed as guilt seared through him. "Hermione, I'm so sorry.-"

"No Harry, I understand you're…struggling to deal with things. I just wish you'd still talk to Ron and I, and stop using Draco Malfoy to keep us away. It worries me, how much you might be telling him. Maybe you do trust him, but I just…"

"Hermione," Harry sighed "can you just trust me on this one?"

"I'll trust you Harry," she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve "but not him. I can't, not yet." she reached for his hand. "Harry, next time you get worked up about something, don't let it get between us. I know Ron doesn't show it by crying all over you," she gave him a wobbly smile "but he hates this. Nothing we say pleases you."

"I'm really sorry. I'll try not to blow up next time we disagree. Did you mean what you said, about telling me what happens in Order meetings?"

"Of course. Harry, I promise he only wants us to contact him if you look like you're going to do something reckless and we can't stop you, there's no guarantee we'll even get to go to many meetings."

"Thank you." he said quietly, smiling at her and thinking to himself. Surely the headmaster wouldn't make them Order members simply to report back to him if Harry was putting himself in danger? On the other hand, with Hermione and her habit of being overly keen to please, maybe he hoped that she would want to contribute more than necessary, just like in class.

For a while, as Harry sat in silence Hermione attempted to work, despite her mind's insistence on dwelling on first on Harry, and then finally back to its original subject: Theo.

_Does he like me at all? _she wondered. She didn't like how distant he had been with her today after the duel, even if he did have good reason. Maybe _she _should make a move, let him know that she _was _interested.

_But what shall I do? _she wondered, barely registering Harry speaking as he got up to leave.

"See you Harry." she called absentmindedly, deciding she'd had enough studying for one day and starting to pack away her books.

…ooo000ooo…

As soon as Harry had moved off, Ron approached Hermione as she collected her text books together

"Hey." he plopped down on the seat nearest her, feeling queasy.

"Hi," she said distractedly "Ron, I think you're sitting on my potions notes."

Ron pulled a scroll out of the corner of his chair and said in a rush "Do you fancy going for a walk around the lake tomorrow?"

"Hmm?" Hermione said, stooping to retrieve a quill from the floor and added it to her pile of textbooks.

"Oh, I was just wondering," Ron said, stomach churning "If you wanted to, um, go for a walk? We could go to the quidditch pitch instead if you like?"

"I can't, I have to study." Hermione didn't seem to register the meaning of Ron's words and he considered just leaving it at that, but somehow couldn't make himself give up, now that he'd finally asked her.

"Er - Hermione?" he said as she turned towards the girl's stairs "We could go another day then - just you and me, y'know?"

Hermione finally gave him her full attention "Ron, I really can't I have a lot of work to get through-"

"But its only -"

"I'm trying to get ahead in my studies! And you could invite Harry you know, he's made up with me, and I'm sure he wants to talk to you too. Now, I really have to go."

With that, Hermione walked briskly away from him and disappeared up the stairs. Ron groaned. She had completely missed the point. Why had she chosen today of all days to be so un-Hermione-like?

…ooo000ooo…

Draco slumped against the dungeon wall as Snape's bat-like figure disappeared around the corner. He couldn't take this any longer, now that Snape was questioning him about his plans.

He wasn't even safe at school, Snape was now watching his every move, undoubtedly waiting for him to betray Potter. Soon, he would be required to state his loyalty to Potter in front of the entire school, and then what would Snape think? How many times could he fight him away with accusations of him trying to steal his glory, with usurping his father's power…with anything he could think of to keep him at bay? Nervous, he had already told him that his friendship with Potter was a ruse, but as that was the only information he had given, would Snape sense it wasn't the truth?

But was it a lie? Draco wasn't sure. More and more, he had found himself looking forward to meeting Harry Potter at lunchtimes, working together in classes and practicing quidditch together. This friendship was becoming too real, and it frightened him.

This couldn't last. The balancing act had to end. He had to choose a side before someone found him out and then he would be well and truly alone, neither side willing to take him in.


	11. Chapter 10

_I don't own Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, or Hedwig. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing fanfic. I'm not even making a profit from this, only a small amount of reviews. Review please!_

"Who's that from?" Harry asked curiously.

A school owl had just delivered Hermione a note, and she had read it and passed it straight to Ron, who looked excited.

"Dumbledore wants us to go to his office later," Hermione whispered, after checking no one was eavesdropping "and it looks like its on Order business!"

"Do you think we'll get to sit in on a meeting?" Ron said excitedly

"Not unless he has meetings in his office, which I doubt." Hermione replied, then looked over anxiously "Harry, are you alright with this? You remember what I said, don't you? We're not spying on you. There'll be nothing to say to him anyway, except that you're fine. He probably wants to talk to us about something else anyway."

"Yeah." Harry said heavily. "Look, I trust you, just … just be careful, okay? I know you don't believe me, but he might try to make you fell guilty for not telling him things. Don't say anything you didn't intend to in advance."

"Of course Harry." Hermione said, but he could tell that she still didn't believe him.

…ooo000ooo…

"When we get back, I want us both to make up with Harry properly." Hermione said as she and Ron made their way down the spiral staircase leading from Dumbledore's office.

"Both of us? Don't you mean me?" Ron said dryly

"Mostly you Ron, but I think we should all have a good talk and clear the air about what we think is going on." she clarified

"You felt it too then?" he said, shooting her a troubled glance.

"There's more to this than it seems, there has to be." Hermione sighed deeply, wishing for a moment that Harry's life could be simpler.

From the moment they had port keyed to Grimmauld Place, Hermione had kept her eyes and ear open. Minutes later, when they were welcomed into the kitchen by a grinning Tonks and a disapproving, but nonetheless welcoming Mrs Weasley, she had almost certain that Harry had been over-reacting. Many members were new to them, but seemed eager to shake their hand; clearly Dumbledore had told everyone about them.

From the satisfied look on Ron's face, Hermione could tell he was enjoying having an important role too. People seemed eager to meet Harry's friends and looked highly approving that she and Ron were keeping an eye on him.

The meeting began well enough, and started with each member giving an account of their recent tasks and how they dealt with it. Disappointingly, no one had anything particularly interesting to say and Hermione hoped Harry would believe her when they returned with nothing to report other than the Order was keeping an eye on several particularly dodgy Ministry workers.

When everyone had finished giving their reports, Hermione couldn't help thinking to herself '_Is that all? I certainly hope Harry's money has gone into more substantial things than snooping around the Ministry.'_

She turned to see if Ron was thinking the same thing, but jumped to attention at the way his mouth was opening and shutting as if caught unawares. She turned back to the table to see everyone leaning in and staring at her and Ron expectantly. Tonks, who was beside Ron had just given her report.

Were they supposed to have prepared something? She glanced at Dumbledore uncertainly and he gave her a reassuring nod.

"We - er -" Ron began

"Well, as we've been asked, we've been watching Harry over the past few weeks." Hermione said quickly, and Ron sagged in relief.

"So far, he's kept out of trouble and we haven't needed to talk him out of any crazy adventures, so this time we really don't have much to report I'm afraid." Her words were a little rushed, and she could feel the flush on her cheeks, but really, a little warning would have been appreciated.

"This time?" A thin wizard in patched robes said curiously "Do you mean he seems likely to take risks in the near future?"

"No, not particularly." Hermione said carefully, wondering who he was.

"But I thought Harry was hanging around with that Malfoy boy?" Mrs Weasley leaned in, concern etched on her face

"Yes," Hermione said confused "but we haven't had any reason to be concern-"

"Harry Potter is networking with Death Eater's children?" The thin wizard cut in "Shouldn't we have been alerted to this more promptly? How long has this been going on?"

"He hasn't been 'networking'!" Hermione said hotly "And just because his father's a Death Eater doesn't _necessarily _mean-"

"I expected you to have got carers for Harry a little better trained," a woman with a long, narrow nose and flinty eyes addressed Dumbledore "They don't seem to have the slightest idea of what sort of things are note-worthy or how to make a report! I thought we agreed aurors were the best protection?"

"Now now Doreah," Dumbledore chastened "this is Miss Granger and Mr Weasley's first meeting. As I recall your first report was a little flustered too. I have already told you why aurors are not being used."

"Quite right," Mrs Weasley said firmly "Ron and Hermione have been excellent friends to Harry, who better to know when he needs help?"

"Miss Granger?" the headmaster asked, watching her carefully "Has Harry been disappearing with Mr Malfoy for periods of time, unexplained, or perhaps with false explanations?"

Hermione frowned. "No."

"Has he shown an inclination to - ah - more changes shall we say? You know Harry has been quite the rebellious teenager this year."

"Not really." Ron said firmly, and Hermione couldn't help feeling pride at how easily he lied for Harry despite his own disapproval of exactly that behaviour.

"You have lived with Harry night and day, being his housemates," Dumbledore said "do you have anything, anything all that might be worthwhile sharing? What does he talk to Draco Malfoy about, what concerns or upsets him these days? Has he got any other new friends?"

"We don't know what he talks to Malfoy about," Ron said, his ears getting a little red from, Hermione suspected, the implication that they had been expected to rat on every movement Harry made "because we don't like hanging around with him when he's there. Just normal friendly conversations, I suppose. He doesn't seem that concerned about anything, other than what you already know-" he couldn't seem to meet the headmaster's eye at that point "and as far as we know, he doesn't have any other new friends."

There was a short silence.

"Er. Does he, Hermione?" Ron added in an attempt to get all the eyes off his quickly reddening face.

"No, I have to agree." Hermione said, more confidently "He and Malfoy just chat like normal friends, and there's nothing new in other areas."

"All right then, Miss Granger." Hermione had to stop herself from raising her eyebrows affronted as he signalled to Mrs Weasley, who stood to usher them out of the meeting."

"Come on, you two." she tutted "We can't have you staying out of school much later or you;ll break curfew.

And so after being hastily escorted from the adult's meeting like bright children who had disappointed them by not giving their fullest effort, Hermione was concerned.

"Ron, I'm starting to wonder if there is something afterall - to what Harry's saying about the headmaster."

…ooo000ooo…

"You see?" Harry said determinedly "What did I tell you?"

"Harry this is exactly the behaviour I'm talking about." Hermione said exasperatedly "You don't need to be so … forceful."

"Sorry," Harry shrugged, resuming his pacing back and forth over the rug in front of the common room fire "but I've had weeks and weeks to think it all over, it's a relief that you finally agree."

"We only said that he seems overly interested in what you're doing when you're with Malfoy." Hermione said, but Ron contradicted her

"Well actually, he did try to make us feel like idiots for not saying more - I'd say that's pretty manipulative."

"Oh for goodness sakes!" Hermione closed her eyes in frustration "Perhaps he did, perhaps he didn't! We can't just decide he's not trustworthy based on conjecture! Do either of you realise how _big_ it would be, if we just-"

"Cut him off, yeah." Harry said

"You can't be serious."

"I've been doing it already," Harry said defiantly "and look at how he's acting. He's been manipulating me, maybe for the 'greater good' or whatever, but not for my own good. He's been doing it for years and now he's scared he's losing control. Can't you see it?"

"After that meeting I think I might have to agree." Ron said tersely, and Harry looked relieved.

"I don't want to rush into any decisions," Hermione sighed "I think Ron and I should keep going to meetings for a while-"

"If they'll have us." Ron chipped in

"Oh they will." Harry said confidently "He'll get desperate for news on what I'm up to after a while."

"Harry have you ever thought that it might just be he's worried at what you're turning into, talking to people like Malfoy?" Hermione said, in a last ditch attempt.

"I know he's worried about that." Harry said "He's hinted that I'm turning into the next Voldemort, but just because he says to keep away from him, doesn't mean I have to."

"Okay Harry." Hermione gave in "As long as you don't do anything drastic, or stupid" she added with a stern glare "then I'll agree that Dumbledore is going to far. I don't trust Draco, but I'll give getting to know him a try. Can we all be friends again now?"

"Yeah - do you mean that?" Relief was on Harry's face

"Of course."

"I don't know about getting to know the ferret," Ron added hastily "but I suppose…I'll try not to rub him up the wrong way - if he doesn't do it to me either!" he added threateningly, though Harry had already clapped an arm around his shoulders "- if we have to get used to him being around."

…ooo000ooo…

"What do you think of Ginny - Ginny Weasley?" Harry said suddenly as he was walking with Malfoy to Potions one day.

"Er - what?"

"What do you think?" Harry felt immediately awkward and wished he hadn't brought it up.

Draco looked amused "What - the minute she turns her attentions away from you and now you decide you want her?"

"No! I was asking you what _you _think!"

"_I _think she's not your type. Too…Gryffindor-ish. You need someone to balance you out."

Harry felt uncomfortable. He hadn't meant for this to turn into a conversation about his love life. The awkwardness immediately subsided at Draco's next words

"Like Bulstrode."

"_Millicent _Bulstrode!" Harry spluttered, half in laughter, half in shock.

"Yeah - you're too high and mighty. You need a Slytherin around at all times to remind you not to be prejudiced. And to be sneaky."

"I'm not _that _bad!" Harry said, choked with laughter. "And besides, I was wondering if _you _were interested in her!"

"Mill? Too muscly for a girl. I prefer them more feminine."

"No no! Ginny Weasley!" Harry laughed

Malfoy didn't answer for a while, and Harry hurriedly added "I didn't mean that you weren't serious about Pansy, just-"

"Oh Pansy wouldn't mind!" Draco assured him

"What?"

"Don't you remember me telling you that me and Pansy are just a show?"

"Oh yeah. So then you can secretly see whoever you want, right?"

"Precisely. Now most Purebloods in Slytherin and sometimes other houses have the same problem. Pansy's like a sister, and we'll make a good couple - we understand each other perfectly." Draco explained with an air of enjoying the sound of his own voice

"…We've known each other since we were babies. But I know her so well, there'd be no excitement at all in being with her. It'd just be a business arrangement, to produce heirs. Thus, excitement has to be found elsewhere. It's a well established tradition - almost everyone in Slytherin who has a girlfriend - or boyfriend, has a fiance who is a different person. Pansy's slept with half-"

"Okay okay!" Harry cut in "I get the picture!"

"Don't be a prude, Potter!"

"You're avoiding the question! What do you think of Ginny?"

"Weaslette…" Malfoy looked thoughtful, considering the question "Why do you want to know?"

"To warn you off her, on behalf of Ron. Not - " Harry hurriedly added at the ugly expression forming on Malfoy's face "-not that he actually knows about this. I just know he wouldn't be happy if you were with her."

"Well," a smirk that made Harry's heart sink settled on Malfoy's face "Just to annoy Weasley, I'd bang his little sister."

"Oy!" Harry wheeled around, heart pumping "If you ever lay a finger on her! -"

"Whoah! Calm down!" Malfoy backed away, alarmed "I forgot you were a Gryffindor, okay! I was just messing around!"

Harry backed off, not convinced at all "I'm serious, Malfoy, if you hurt her-"

"Okay - first things first Potter" Malfoy's waved his hands in submission "I don't like clingy girls - and Weasley is one of those. However-" his eyes were warning "If I did like her I wouldn't listen to you. She's pretty, and I wouldn't say no as things stand. But as a friend, for you I wouldn't hurt her feelings."

When they entered Slughorn's classroom and everyone stared at them walking in together as usual, Harry lowered his voice and asked:

"When are you going to tell everyone that you've swapped sides? Because I can't stand everyone staring at us like this much longer."

"I would have thought you'd be used to staring, Mr Celebrity." Draco settled down at their usual table with a smirk

"It's different." Harry muttered "It's like…like I've stolen you from them or something. I don't like it."

"Potter, it's simply my stunningly good looks." Malfoy said, his voice muffled as he leant under the table to retrieve his copy of _Advanced Potion Making _from his bag.

"And there I thought I was the looks of this outfit!" Harry muttered dryly

"Nope," Draco said cheerfully "But you certainly aren't the brains either. It must just be the two of us - famous ladies' men - rich ones, at that!"

"I don't think Goyle would appreciate you calling him a lady." Harry said, nodding towards the front of the class where the fat boy sat at his desk glaring back at them.

"Oh well then we're just attractive all round then!" Malfoy laughed "Who can blame old Greg for staring, After all look at us, we're -" Malfoy failed to notice Slughorn motioning for silence as he cheerfully spoke into the silence " -sexy, young and loaded, who could resist!"

His voice trailed away into a silence only broken by Ron who seemed to be choking on his sugar quill at the other side of the classroom.

…ooo000ooo…

It took Draco a long time to live down his proclamation; it was almost February and the Slytherin-Gryffindor game was coming up and people were still quoting the famous line at both of them. Harry was embarrassed enough about being repeatedly referred to as 'loaded and sexy' without what the day had in store for them both; it had began early that morning when he and Draco met up for an early quidditch session because the pitch was booked every night leading up to the big quidditch game.

He and Draco were playing a game of 'would you rather' as they passed the quaffle back and forth, and so far Harry had shamefacedly admitted he would rather have sex with Professor McGonagall than Trelawney, that he would rather be torn to death by an angry Hippogriff than slowly be eaten alive by flesh-eating slugs, and that he would rather attend Lord Voldemort's birthday party than Snape's.

Draco in turn had admitted that between finding out that Filch was his father or that Madam Pince was his mother that he preferred Filch (he was a cat person), that he would rather have every-flavour beans jammed up his nose for all eternity than sugar-quills in his ears, and he was just debating with himself whether he would prefer to be 'squidged' by the giant squid or 'whomped' by the whomping willow when Harry, laughing so hard he was having trouble throwing the quaffle straight, had an idea.

"Draco?"

Malfoy fell silent halfway through wondering aloud exactly what getting 'whomped' meant. He stared at Harry oddly.

"Yes, _Harry_?"

"I was just wondering if we were on first-name terms yet. It seems strange calling you 'Malfoy' all the time now."

"Does it?" Malfoy's face was blank and Harry felt a little embarrassed

"If you don't want - I only thought - well, I even call Ernie 'Macmillan' - I mean," he tried again awkwardly "I even call Ernie 'Ernie' and Neville 'Neville' and I'm better friends with you than I am with them, so I just thought . . ."

Harry continued flying, wondering why Malfoy was so quiet. Finally the other boy spoke.

"Okay then. I suppose you're right. I'll try to remember to call you 'Harry' from now on."

The boys flew in silence now, Draco felt like a treacherous rat, and he could tell Harry was wondering what he had said wrong, but he just couldn't find the words to reassure him. He had already resolved to himself that he would tell everyone he was no longer on Voldemort's side soon, but now he was seriously wondering whether he should mean it for real when he did it.

Draco made his excuses to leave the pitch early, whether because Ron had turned up or because of the sudden awkwardness between them, Harry didn't know.

Ron walked him up to the hall for breakfast; it was the first time he had made such an approach since their recent reconciliation, and Harry was eager to hear what he had to say, not realising that his day was about to get steadily worse.

"Same time tomorrow Harry?" Draco had called as he left the changing room, and Harry called back to confirm. He felt suddenly cheerful; perhaps he had been wrong and things hadn't been as strained as he'd thought.

He turned to Ron, and wondered why he was watching Harry oddly.

"What's up?" he asked as they began to walk back up to the great hall.

Ron was silent for a moment, then he said "You and Malfoy are pretty close now, right?"

Harry wondered if Ron was feeling left out, and said:

"I suppose. But I missed being friends with you, you know, it wasn't the same."

"No…" Ron's expression told Harry that he found his comment somewhat ironic "No, it couldn't have been, I suppose."

Harry's heart leapt "So you really meant it, when you said we could be friends again then, and try not to insult Draco?"

"Well, " Ron said, his face growing rather red "Yes, I think I could do that."

"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry was confused, Ron was now looking more embarrassed than he had ever seen him before, his entire ears were glowing.

Ron paused before answering "I just want you to know," he said, staring down at the ground as he walked "that I'm okay with it."

"Okay with what? Me and Draco?" Harry asked, confused as to why Ron was acting so strangely

"Yeah," Ron said, looking as if he was intensely relieved that Harry had said it rather than him "You and Dr- Malfoy".

"Right." said Harry, feeling as if he were missing something

They walked in silence for a bit, until finally Ron tried to start a conversation again.

"So what have you two been up to all this time then?" he said, then his entire face seemed to flush crimson "I didn't mean that!" he spluttered as Harry stared, confused "I don't want to know! I just meant - oh I don't know…" he trailed into silence and Harry stared at the ground as he walked, wondering what on earth was wrong with Ron. He decided to try a direct question.

"Ron, why are you acting so weirdly?" he turned to look at his old friend, determined to root out the problem; he was definitely missing something here.

"I just -" Ron muttered "didn't realise what this was all about."

"What what was all about?" Harry demanded

"You and Malfoy! I didn't realise you were - " Ron stopped and took a breath "All this time, and I never really knew you!"

"What do you mean - of course you know me!" Harry was utterly mystified

"No." Ron shook his head vigorously "I never knew, I only found out when I heard what everyone was saying about you, and then I remembered that time in Potions, and now you're calling each other by your first names!"

"Ron," Harry said slowly, a deep sense of foreboding descending upon him "What _exactly _is it that you heard everyone was saying about me and Malfoy?"

Ron looked embarrassed again, and said in a rush "That you and Malfoy are dating! I never knew, Harry I'm so sorry…"

Harry simply stared back, shell-shocked. He could feel blood draining from his face.

"I should have realised," Ron rambled on "You've been so moody this year, you must have just figured out you were - you were - well, gay. And I fell out with you, instead of being a friend and sticking by you, no wonder you've been so angry with me!"

"And - and the _entire _school is talking about this?" Harry croaked, feeling faint

"Well yes," Ron said "But don't worry Harry," he added stoically "I told them all to lay off you, that it's your choice, even if Malfoy is a ba - well, not usually a decent person."

Harry stared back at Ron, who finally met his eyes, red faced.

"Ron," he choked "I'm not - " he couldn't bring himself to say it. His head spun as he realised what Ron must think - what the whole school must think - he and Draco had been up to all this time they were alone together, down at the quidditch pitch, walking back up to school sweaty and dishevelled.

"I'm not dating - Draco Malfoy!" he spat it out eventually, feeling ill with embarrassment

"What?" Ron now looked shocked "You're not g-gay?"

"No!" Harry half shouted

The boys walked in silence.

"So it was just a rumour?" Ron said after a moment.

"And you confirmed it to everyone!" Harry groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry!" Ron choked "I thought - I thought… I was trying to do the right thing!"

"s'okay." Harry forced himself to say it, dreading appearing in the hall for breakfast. Would he ever be able to look at Draco in the same way again?

"Why - why did you - ?"

"I dunno, Harry! I just heard people talking, and then it all fit together when Malfoy called you sexy in Potions!"

"He called us both sexy! It was a joke!"

"I'm sorry!" Ron howled in embarrassment, looking intensely apologetic "and then I thought - you were suddenly calling each other by your first names, and I meant to say something to you anyway, but then I realised that you two must be really serious about each other so - so…."

They entered the great hall and Harry felt as if everyone was staring at him.

"Harry…" Ron said as they walked "It's just that - well I wouldn't be surprised if Malfoy did have the hots for you."

"What?!" Harry hissed, his face heating up even more

"Well…Pureblood families - not mine - but some, usually traditional ones like the Malfoys -"

"Spit it out Ron!" Harry snapped, even though he was almost certain he didn't want to hear about this either

"Well they encourage it - homosexuality-"

"Sssh!" Harry hissed, looking around as they sat down at the Gryffindor table

"Well they do!" Ron's face was red again "Because marriages are usually arranged, the couples don't love each other, and, well girls would rather their husband was off with - with another man, rather than a woman, you know, so there won't be any illegitimate child-"

"Alright, alright!" he snapped as Neville and Dean sat down nearby "Whatever! He doesn't, okay - trust me!"

"Okay then." Ron said quickly, nodding very quickly and firmly to show that he believed whatever Harry said.

"You _will _help me stamp out these rumours!" Harry declared, and Ron nodded fervently.

…ooo000ooo…

The night before the big quidditch game the rumours were still circulating, and although Harry was otherwise happy, being friends with Ron, and Draco being back to normal (he had snickered for what seemed hours when he found out what Ron had thought), Harry couldn't help his insides feeling as if they were curling in embarrassment whenever he thought he spotted someone looking at him strangely.

Ron, now solidly in Harry's debt agreed to meet with Harry and spend some time with him with Draco at the quidditch pitch the night before the big game - it had been booked by Gryffindor, but the practise only lasted an hour so that everyone could get a good night's sleep before the match, leaving it free for Harry and Draco - and now Ron too - to mess around on, despite both of the captains' orders.

Harry was desperate for Ron to get along with Draco as soon as possible, although neither of the other boys seemed at all enthusiastic about the idea. Draco, who Harry was almost certain would refuse to turn up, did so after an odd, guilty look crossed his face. He was also clutching a bottle of Firewhisky when he arrived.

"Excellent!" Ron exclaimed when he spotted it.

"I expect we'll need it." Draco said dryly, as he and Ron stared unhappily at each other.

"Not too much though," Harry said quickly "we do have a match tomorrow!"

"It's fine, I have a sobering potion." Draco said, conjuring up three goblets, and then proceeded to pour out generous measures.

"I take it we're not flying then." Harry looked sadly towards the changing rooms where his Firebolt resided.

"I need a drink, Harry." Draco said irritably "I'm going to tell everyone tomorrow."

"You are?" Harry's mouth went dry "You're going to tell them you're on my side?"

"Yes." he answered shortly, sipping his Firewhisky.

Ron spluttered and choked; he had swallowed his whole glass in one, and an evil expression formed on Malfoy's face.

"Weasley - would you rather," he began, ignoring Harry's glare "snog Granger, or - or - " he thought for a moment "let's say that Delacour girl - the French one from the Tournament in fourth year?"

And the night proceeded thus.

Harry felt rather drunk after only half a glass, and then fuzzily realised that Draco was using a non-verbal refilling charm on his drink. Instead of scolding him however, he found himself giving his ex-nemesis a one armed hug and making a toast to him. Ron lay in a heap, he had passed out long ago, slumping onto Malfoy not long after 'would you rather' turned into 'truth or dare'.

So far, all the dares had come to nothing, mostly resulting in the two boys collapsing into giggles because they couldn't walk without falling over. Draco had just tripped over a bench in the Gryffindor stands in his attempt to fulfill his dare of 'fighting the whomping willow'. All the so called 'truths' had also come to nothing, as the boys were now having trouble keeping their conversation consistent, and the listener rapidly forgot the truth-teller's answer in any case.

"Time to stop!" Draco announced suddenly, jumping to his feet, then falling back down again.

"Wha-?" Harry mumbled

"Need to get sober Barry!" Malfoy said, pulling a bottle out of his robes with some difficulty, then dropped it as Ron stirred and rolled over on the ground. "Quidditch tomorrow!"

"Wass happening?" Ron said, sitting up in a wobbly fashion

"Would you rather?" Draco said in an over-loud, obnoxiously posh voice "Play in the Slytherin team, Harry, or - " he paused for effect, then seemed to lose track of his thoughts.

"Or have Malfoy pay for the Gryffindor house!" Ron crowed

"You mean play for the Griffledor house - I mean team. Gryffindor." Harry said, nodding.

"Unbreakable oath!" Ron said, pulling his wand out his pocket "Hold hands, Harry, Malfoy!"

"Why? I don't want to hold hands with Malfoy!" Harry said "People will spread rumours!"

"It's an unbreakable VOW, idiot!" Malfoy grabbed Harry's foot "And don't worry, me and Theo never held hands when we were going out, and everyone knew about it anyway!"

"Okay then." Harry said indifferently, and held Malfoy's arm.

"That's not how you hold hands!" Ron pointed out, and Malfoy pulled Harry's shoe off.

There was a brief tussle, the shoe disappeared into the darkness, and then finally Malfoy and Harry sat holding hands.

"Why are we holding hands Larry?" Malfoy asked suddenly

"We're going to swap teams!" Harry explained "Just think - I'll win the house cup for Slytherin!"

"Hang on, why?" Draco asked

"For the hell of it!" Ron chortled "It'll be hilarious!"

"And I'll finally win!" Draco said, "Weasel! Weren't you going to do an unbreakable vow? Snape will never let me switch teams otherwise."

"Don't worry Harry," Ron said consolingly as his friend began an arm-wrestling match with Malfoy "You die if you break an unbreakable oath, and Fred's left buttock was never the same after last time!" he added inexplicably.

"Malfoy!" he suddenly said, waving his wand haphazardly over their arm wrestling match "Do you promise to play for Gryffindor tomorrow?"

"Okay." Draco said

A wobbly thread of light twisted around Draco's wrist and the three boys stared at it in mesmerised silence.

"I don't know about this Ron." Harry said uncertainly.

"It's probably something I'll forget later." Malfoy agreed, then frowned "I mean I'll regret it. And want to forget about it."

"Harry!" Ron shouted, making the two boys jump "Do you promise to play for Slytherin tomorrow?"

"Definitely!" Harry said, pulling a face at Malfoy "They'll win for once now!"

A second gold thread now twisted around his wrist.

"Great!" Ron exclaimed, standing up and pocketing his wand; the two threads of light disappeared rather abruptly "Now we need to get breakfast before we go and play!"

"Hang on!" Harry said slowly "Aren't you going to play for Slytherin too?"

"Nah!" Ron shook his head rapidly "They lose enough as it is without me!"

"Oy!" Malfoy shouted as Harry found the small glass bottle on the ground that Draco had dropped.

"Hah!" he exclaimed "Only Draco would have such stingy portions of Firewhisky!" and he began taking the lid off with difficulty.

"Gimme some!" Ron tried to wrestle the bottle off him, but not before Harry had gulped down most of it.

"Leave a bit for me!" Draco said.

There was a sudden silence as Harry stared at Ron as he drank, and then Ron stared at Harry.

"Hey!" Draco slurred "Give me that bottle!" Ron wordlessly passed it to him and he fell over backwards as he tilted the remains of the potion into his mouth.

Harry and Ron watched in silence as Draco sat up slowly, the potion dribbling down his chin. Three horror struck faces, all chalk white stared at each other.

"Did we really -?" Draco started

"The match!" Ron groaned

"What's the time?!" Harry said urgently

"Two AM." Draco checked his watch

"Did the - please say the unbreakable vow didn't work!"

"I don't know." Ron was pale

Harry and Ron stared at Draco, who shook his head "I don't know."

"We can't chance it." Ron whispered "Harry, you might die!"

Draco looked irritated "What about me?"

"I don't give a shit." Ron replied "Harry, you can't take the chance."

The boys sat in silence again, Malfoy looking somewhat more ill-tempered than the others.

"Polyjuice." Draco said "Pansy has some. We stole it in Slughorn's classroom - it was just sitting out, and you never know when that stuff might come in handy."

"Right." Harry said "We need to go to bed, get some sleep, can you meet me with the Polyjuice Potion in greenhouse four after breakfast?"

Draco nodded, looking stricken "Harry, remember that you might have made a vow that Slytherin will definitely win."

"It doesn't work like that, does it?" Ron said suspiciously, but Harry nodded, wondering if Draco looked so worried because of the threat to Harry's life or because Harry might make his team lose.

…ooo000ooo…

Ron and Harry gulped down their breakfast and separated from the rest of the team in the crowd heading down to the stands and ducked around a corner to throw on the invisibility cloak. When they arrived at greenhouse four, they found Draco, pale faced and shaking between some potted mandrakes and a flutterby bush. Behind him, Pansy Parkinson patted his shoulder consolingly;

"He's always so nervous before a match." she said to Harry casually "So remember to try and look tense."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." he said tersely as she handed him an empty goblet and proceeded to fill it with the sludgy looking potion. She did the same for Draco.

"Swap hairs!" she ordered and Harry yanked out a handful while she delicately plucked out a single gold hair of Draco's and they placed them in each other's bottles.

Immediately, the potion in the bottle Draco held turned a bright gold colour, while the one Harry held turned a brilliant silver.

"Weird." said Ron

"Sweet." said Pansy "You two would make an expensive couple with all that gold and silver." she giggled trillingly at her own joke.

Ron didn't laugh and Harry merely grimaced as he downed the potion, wincing. It tasted like those sour yet sugary muggle jelly-sweets. As he felt his nose start to thin and lengthen and his hair grow and change colour, Draco drank his own potion.

After much gasping and doubling over, the boys straightened up, both looking nervous and ill as their transformations came to an end.

"You'd better swap clothes," Pansy said brightly to Draco, who was now wearing a haughty expression that didn't suit Harry's face at all "I'll just stay with you, Drakie-poo, shall I?" she looked his new body up and down rather eagerly.

"We only need to swap cloaks, jumpers and ties!" Harry said hurriedly, feeling himself blush, then shivered at the sight of himself in Slytherin uniform. So that was how he would look if he had let the sorting hat have it's way…

"After this," Draco said shakily in Harry's voice as he removed his cloak "We're all going to Hogsmead this weekend and having a good old fashioned round of butterbeer."

"Fire whisky - never again." Ron muttered in agreement

"Draco," Harry said in a firm voice "Do your best for Gryffindor or I swear I'll use your body to humiliate you, and risk death to make Slytherin lose worse than they _ever _have before."

"And you better win this match within an hour or we're fucked mate." Ron said solemnly as Draco turned a delicate shade of green.

…ooo000ooo…

After getting changed into Draco's quidditch leathers and green Slytherin quidditch robe, Harry followed the others out onto the pitch. The other Slytherins had seemed to think nothing of his nervous silence, and he hoped Draco had made a passable imitation of himself. As Urquhart and Katie shook hands he locked eyes with Draco who stood clutching Harry's Firebolt, looking ready to wet himself. Harry fervently hoped he didn't.

The whistle blew, the players shot into the air and Harry immediately felt the loss of his Firebolt. The Nimbus 2001 felt as right in his hand as his own Nimbus 2000 had, yet it's speed and braking would never be as impressive as the Firebolt. He immediately began raking the sky with his eyes for the snitch. His new team may be terrible, but if he caught the snitch soon enough…

It felt odd to be playing with Slytherin. Every time a team member neared him he braced himself, only to relax when he realised that they were only aiming to injure Gryffindors. Up ahead, Draco seemed to forget this and came too close to Vaisey, who elbowed him viciously. Draco looked shocked at first, then quickly sped off.

"And there's the snitch!" Luna Lovegood's voice, which so far had been pointing out oddly shaped clouds and interesting looking hats in the crowd, finally decided to focus on the game. Sure enough, Harry could see the snitch. It was behind Malfoy, who immediately spun round, and then turned back again to lock eyes with Harry. Harry groaned as he sped towards the snitch far too slowly, Malfoy wasn't going to catch it in case it caused Harry's death, but the crowd was booing, and the Gryffindor team was screaming at Malfoy. Harry didn't want to die but -

"And it looks like Harry Potter doesn't want to hurt his boyfriend's feelings by catching the snitch!" Luna said happily "Isn't that sweet? I always thought quidditch was such a rough game, what a good example Harry's setting!"

Harry's face grew warm as his mind raced - what could he do to save his life and reputation at the same time? However the snitch had sped off in another direction, and he breathed a sigh of relief; Malfoy must have caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye because he immediately groped the air where it had been, milliseconds ago, and looked around in perfectly faked confusion, and the Gryffindor crowd groaned.

As Harry recovered from his near-humiliation, the game continued with much violence from his Slytherin team. Ginny was pushed from her broom but luckily only fell a short distance. She bravely insisted on continuing playing with a twisted ankle. Ron was randomly attacked by the Slytherin beaters and a bludger smashed into his jaw, breaking it. Harry watched in concern as he was escorted from the pitch. For both of these attacks, Gryffindor gained a penalty, but with no Keeper, Slytherin began to score more frequently against them. Finally, as he soared hundred of feet above the game, Draco sped by him at lightening speed when the score hit Slytherin 250, Gryffindor 350.

"Above the Slytherin goal post!" Draco shouted at him, then headed into a Wronskei Feint in the opposite direction.

"And Harry Potter has seen the snitch!" Luna declared dreamily "Oh - wait! I think he was trying to trick Draco Malfoy with a wonky faint! Draco Malfoy is going in the other direction! Yes look! He's - oh! Is that a handmade flag that those Ravenclaws have made? It's very artistic!"

The Slytherin crowd erupted in cheers when Harry's fist closed over the snitch.

"Oh - has someone won?" Luna asked brightly before Professor McGonagall grabbed the microphone and irritably snapped "Slytherin wins 400 to 350. "

Harry meanwhile, could feel his face beginning to feel as if it were melting as he sped towards the ground, and he hastily pushed though the cheering Slytherin team and hurried into the Gryffindor changing rooms, hoping no one would notice that Draco Malfoy had just gone into the wrong team's quarters. Draco was already there, although he still looked like Harry even as Harry saw his own hair beginning to darken.

"Quickly!" Draco urged, pulling Harry's invisibility cloak out of his robes "Before they come in!"

However Harry was staring at his reflection in a stained old mirror on the stone wall. He was almost completely back to himself, his nose was just shortening.

"No! Quick, change clothes, we'll make it just in time!" Harry ripped off his green cloak and passed it to Draco, who now still had Harry's face under his usual blond hair, a disconcerting image. Draco had only just ripped off his maroon cloak and passed Harry his glasses in time when the Gryffindor team began to enter. He turned to face the wall to hide his face which was still changing back, when Katie said;

"Oy! What's he doing in here!"

"Er-" Harry couldn't think of a reply

"Malfoy! Being Harry's boyfriend doesn't make you a Gryffindor!" she bellowed, and Harry saw Draco feel his face before turning around.

"We're not dating." Draco said calmly "What a ridiculous rumour, I thought everyone realised that Pansy and I are a couple!"

"I couldn't care less about your love life Malfoy!" Katie replied coldly "Now please leave."

"Alright, no need to be rude!" Draco sniffed "I was only in here to let you know my news!"

"What news?" Katie said, suddenly suspicious, and Harry tensed, wondering.

Draco swallowed, his knees suddenly feeling weak. His next words would change his life forever, he knew, and although he had subconsciously made the decision weeks ago, he had only admitted it to himself recently, and only made up his mind what to do about it the night before.

"I," Draco said loudly, trying not to let his voice shake too much "Am now renouncing my parents' ways. I will never follow the Dark Lord, and I have no ill-feeling towards muggles and muggleborns. I'm going to help Harry Potter in any way I can to defeat the Dark Lord."

The Gryffindor team all exchanged startled looks as Draco tried not to hyperventilate.

"Just wanted to spread the news," Draco said, shakily making his way out the door "Now please don't mind the ruckus next door, I'm just about to tell my team about my change in political stance."

…ooo000ooo…

The news of Draco's announcement spread like wildfire and the Slytherin was besieged with questions, accusations and challenges. He had begun to attempt to bribe Harry with increasing amounts of Galleons for the use of his invisibility cloak, although Harry was reluctant to hand it over, eventually telling Malfoy that his suffering was proof of his loyalty, although the real reason was that it felt plain wrong to give Malfoy his father's cloak.

Draco would have liked to tell Harry where he could shove his loyalty, but the fact was he couldn't afford to lose his protection now.

Most of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were content to merely observe Malfoy as a new curiosity, stopping to stare as he passed, moving around the school huddled in Harry Potter's shadow for fear of being ambushed. The exceptions were Ernie MacMillian who gave him a bracing handshake, congratulating him on his decision.

"If Harry trusts you, so do I. Welcome to the right side!" he said in loud, pompous voice as Draco cringed with embarrassment.

Another person echoed his sentiments; Luna Lovegood shocked him in front of a large group of giggling Gryffindor first years by pulling him into a tight embrace and then walking away without a word.

The Gryffindors were more suspicious of him than anything, and although he didn't voice his suspicions to Harry, he was confident that if left alone with some of them, he would find himself the victim of a many-to-one duel. As it was, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas cracked their knuckles threateningly whenever they passed. Harry looked worried and uncomfortable when this happened; he promised to protect Draco if it came to a duel or physical blows, but he wouldn't speak up to defend him against his friends. Draco ground his teeth angrily when Harry told him that he'd have to find a way to 'prove himself' to them.

"I've had them all say worse about me you know." Harry said rather snidely one day. Draco bit back his retort.

He wondered if Harry thought his friends were going to turn against him if he stood up for him. Maybe; but in truth they looked at Harry with condescending pity, if anything. He was sure Harry had little to worry about.

Out of the Slytherins, Pansy alone stuck by him openly, although Theo and Blaise also still treated him amicably as ever when no one was looking. The rest of the Slytherins attempted to ambush him at every corner; although not every one of them was a supporter of the Dark Lord, almost all lived in fear of crossing those who did. Draco couldn't hide his fear; he was downright terrified. The only people who knew of his supposed 'plan' was Pansy and the Dark Lord himself, and it made his stomach churn to think that Pansy would probably turn on him when he finally got up enough guts to tell everyone that he really was with Potter. He had no idea what his mother would think, or how she or his father would react once the news reached them.

The first time Draco experienced what siding with Harry Potter might mean was when he found himself hanging upside down in a closet by his ankles, surrounded by four seventh year Slytherins as well as Crabbe and Goyle. He had been caught as he tried to sneak to his Astronomy class; Harry had Transfiguration which was too far away for him to escort Draco to the tower. Thankfully, as Pucey raised his wand Filch appeared and the boys scattered, but Filch hobbled past, not noticing the cupboard door was ajar, and gagged, Draco could do nothing to alert him. He was discovered later that night by an amorous Hufflepuff couple who simply shut the door, smirking at each other as they left to seek a more secluded spot for their night-time activities. It was only long after curfew, almost midnight when the cupboard door seemed to open of its own accord and a dishevelled looking Hermione Granger appeared out of mid-air.

"Oh my goodness!" She gasped when she saw him, and immediately began to take off his gag, stuffing a piece of ragged parchment into her pocket.

"Harry was given detention by Professor Snape when he tried to get out of class to find you," she said as she unwound the long piece of cloth the Slytherins had used to silence him. "But I passed him a note telling him I would look for you. He was very worried."

"Gah!" Malfoy gasped as she pulled out the bunched up end of the cloth, which had been stuffed in his mouth. His mouth was dry and he couldn't speak properly.

"I searched everywhere, and Harry was still in detention when I left, but that was hours ago. You do realise that this is the Room of Requirement? I couldn't find you on the Marau-" she stopped suddenly and then continued as if nothing had happened "Well anyway, whoever put you here-"

"Crabbe, Goyle, and some seventh years." he said, avoiding her gaze which he knew would be pitying.

"Well," she continued, her voice kinder "maybe they didn't realise what they were doing, but this room is unplottable, so I couldn't find you easily."

She began to let him down from the bar where he hung, using a levitation charm at the same time as she untied the knots by magic, and Draco found himself reluctantly impressed.

"I only realised where you must be about ten minutes ago, but I was searching down in the dungeons and it took me ages to get up to the seventh floor. Harry's probably out looking for you by now too, only I have his cloak and - well he won't be able to find you, and he'll probably get caught."

Draco crumpled to the floor, despite her slow and gently lowering, his legs and ankles in agony.

"I'm fine!" he said firmly through gritted teeth as she made an uncertain movement to help him. "I just need to sit for a moment."

There was an awkward silence as Granger stood a short distance away, looking nervously up and down the corridor.

"I can't go back to Slytherin." he realised aloud after about five minutes of this. "They'll kill me in my sleep."

"Maybe you could speak to Dumbledore-"

"No!"

"But he could give you somewhere else to sleep-"

"I'm not putting myself at his mercy." He snapped and Granger fell silent.

"The hospital wing?" he wondered aloud as he finally attempted to get to his feet shakily.

"I know!" Granger said suddenly after a brief silence "You could just sleep in the Room! I can't believe I didn't think of it right away!"

"Of course…" Draco muttered, stepping back to shut the cupboard door and began hobbling back and forth in front of it, eyes closed. After the third pass he opened it and Granger stared curiously over his shoulder. A large stone-walled yet elegant room lay inside, a replica of his four-poster in the Slytherin dormitory stood in the middle, flanked on one side by a dressing chest of drawers and with a bedside table on the other. He turned awkwardly to face Granger at the same time she began to speak.

"Will you be alright?" she said

"Fine. Thank you." he said in a cold, formal voice, and stepped into the room. They looked at one another for a moment and then looked away.

"I'd better find Harry" she said quickly.

"Thank you for finding me." he stiffly addressed the wall behind her.

"Erm. Goodnight now." She was already walking away, and the next second she disappeared from view, throwing the cloak over her head. He was about to close the door, when he heard the flutter of wings. Peering down the corridor, he saw a fierce-looking owl making straight for him. He allowed it to land on his shoulder, and Draco winced as the sharp talons pressed into his skin. He hurriedly relieved it of its letter, and it flew away into the blackness. He opened it, reading it as he shut the door of the Room.

_Draco,_

_I don__'__t know what you__'__re playing at. Don__'__t think you can just ignore me, I insist you write back to me! I grow impatient, waiting in Azkaban to be released on the off chance you actually achieve your task! _

_What is this nonsense I hear about Harry Potter, and your denouncing of the Dark Lord? I am still alive so I assume this is part of your plan, but I warn you, you are treading on thin ice with proclamations like that so I hope you know what you are doing. _

_Your mother tells me you still have not included her or asked for her advice. Are you a fool? You cannot hope to achieve your task alone. Whatever your plan is, and you had better hope for all our sakes that you actually have one, I insist that you tell your mother at least, so that she can clear up whatever mess you have made and prevent us all from being killed! _

_Write back._

_Father_

Draco bent to open his trunk at the foot of his bed. Sighing, he placed the parchment alongside the sheaf of the other unanswered letters from Lucius.


	12. Chapter 11

_I don't own HP and I'm not making money from writing this fic._

Harry waited impatiently for the next Hogsmeade weekend to take advantage of Ron and Draco's agreement to have a Butterbeer together. He didn't care that it hadn't been a serious comment, only that his friends had agreed to try and get along.

The only thing he was worried about was the fact that some of Draco's Slytherin friends were tagging along.

Rather than walking down to the village as usual, students were now required to take carriages as part of the new security measures, so that they would under no circumstances be alone outside of school. This lead to a rather awkward ride to the village, with Draco and Pansy sitting opposite each other at the windows, Hermione next to Draco, with Ron at her other side. Next to Pansy sat Luna and Theo Nott who surprisingly talked enthusiastically to each other throughout the journey, despite the awkwardness between everyone else. Harry sat awkwardly perched on a rickety fold out seat attached to the door with Ginny nervously seated on the very edge as far as she could get away from him. This did not improve Harry's mood. Hermione quickly attempted to break the icy silence by asking Harry how he was getting on with his Herbology essay.

Harry was still surprised that Hermione had agreed to come along on this outing. He suspected it had less to do with Draco's announcement and how she had subsequently freed him from the closet and more to do with Nott, who seemed to be Hermione's secret study partner. He wondered if Ron knew yet, but supposed not; his friend looked reasonably cheerful. He had taken for granted that Pansy would follow Draco, but he didn't know why Nott had come along; he supposed Draco must have invited him as one of the few Slytherins who had stuck by him. He knew Draco didn't entirely trust him despite his supposed neutrality. Ginny had heard about their plans to meet in Hogsmeade and still keen on Draco, had invited herself and Luna along. In any case, his, Draco's and Ron's quick round of butterbeers to recover from the match had rapidly turned into an awkward attempt for himself and Draco to introduce their friends to one another.

Pansy's eyes wandered before inevitably resting on Harry. She'd had her eye on him for some weeks now, but of course that didn't mean anything. However as she watched him she felt something warm wiggle inside of her. There was something about him…something sweet and innocent. Sure Harry was a bit of a mess and acted like an idiot in some situations, but didn't everybody? He was a Gryffindor, after all. This year, he was always either angry or depressed, not the most attractive emotions but still, that was probably what brought Harry to her attention as a real person rather than the generic cardboard-cut out hero everyone made him out to be. He was irritatingly noble, stupidly so, putting himself in peril without a second thought for people who, for all he knew, didn't deserve it…definitely wouldn't, in her own case. Under pressure, Harry could be counted on to do 'the right thing', what was noble, and what everyone expected him to do. When it came to Pansy, when she was put under pressure or scared she was selfish and either lashed out or ran and hid.

Much like Draco.

Which was why she was with him. Her eyes flew back to Draco for a second. There was no doubting they were good friends. She liked him, but they weren't any closer than friends really. Other than a few snogs they hadn't done much and to be honest they both liked it that way. Getting along and having the same sense of humour did not make you fancy someone necessarily, no matter how good looking Draco was, Pansy was beginning to regard him more and more like a brother. An irritatingly egotistical and vain brother.

She looked back at Harry. This year he had been so moody and rebellious-looking. In his anger he was vulnerable and this appealed to her. If he was her friend, if they were close, she knew that he would trust her and admit to all his insecurities, perhaps lean on her shoulder a little, even not be ashamed to cry. Draco did the opposite and bottled everything up, and took it all out on other people later. It would make her so happy to have someone who would be open with her for once about their feelings - something which was rarely found in Slytherins. Was it so bad to be considering a Gryffindor? She would always know where she was with Harry, he would always be there to save her, he would take care of her no matter what advantages there were for him to marry someone richer - unlike Draco. And if Harry would take her.

She smiled to herself. Of course he would. No man would ever say no to Pansy Parkinson.

At least that's what she would usually say. Harry would marry for love though, she knew it. She also knew he was the type of boy who would be faithful. She was tired of aiming for men who were older, or attractive, or rich. What would really make her happy was someone who loved _her_, where feelings were mutual. Someone who for once wasn't more experienced, who wasn't going out with her for something other than just spending time with her. If she could get Harry to look past her Slytherin badge and her friends, who knew what could happen between them? If nothing else, the situation of Harry Potter dating Pansy would be a satisfying slap in the face for the rest of the world. _Maybe maybe…_she thought dreamily, then tore her gaze away and turned back to Draco.

Ginny watched Draco Malfoy covertly from her uncomfortable perch. Romilda was right, there was no denying it. Malfoy _was_ sexy, and in a way Harry certainly wasn't…well except maybe when he was speeding around the pitch in his quidditch leathers - no! She would not think of Harry, not after…

Her eyes almost filled with tears, even though it had been so long ago. She never, never in a million years thought that Harry could be so mean. The way he had spoken to her, in that horrible mocking voice… it was like she had never really known him before. And of course she hadn't. What was she, except Ron's younger sister who tagged around after the rich, good-looking friend. Harry was right, she was pathetic. But she wasn't going to dwell on him anymore, not after how he had treated her. Ginny did have some pride.

She sighed. It had been ages and she still felt humiliated, and no matter how hard she tried to forget him, she still felt her heart flutter a little when Harry walked in a room.

She looked back at Malfoy. If Harry was sexy, it was unknowingly. Malfoy knew he was, he _knew _women were looking at him. Right now, he was preening at his reflection in the glass of the carriage window. He shook his head a little as he turned around to speak to Hermione, and a lock of light hair fell onto his face in an attractive way. The way he leant forward when he was speaking to you, talking in a low conspiring voice, it made you feel like you were the only thing that mattered in that moment…

He had only ever spoken to her once or twice, but Ginny thanked her lucky stars that he and Harry were friends because it meant she _could _actually talk to the Slytherin without it being a major thing. Suddenly. Draco met her gaze, staring at her. Their eyes locked and Ginny felt her face go red. He knew she had been staring. And then her heart leapt into her throat when winked.

Hermione tried not to be hostile as Draco casually dropped into her conversation with Harry. She really did. She couldn't stand the scrawny snake being near her - why oh _why _had he chosen to sit beside her? She had only agreed to help him the other night as a favour to poor Harry, who had looked angry enough at Snape to curse him. She had had to stop him, or he would have ended up getting himself expelled. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Ginny staring - staring at Draco of all people, she realised with a jolt as she turned her attention to the little red-head. _For goodness sakes, _Hermione wanted to slap the girl _Harry ditched you not so long ago and of course you're already turning to the next-most impressive guy! _She shook her head and turned back to Draco who was admiring his reflection in the carriage window. Typical. Not that there was nothing good to look at, she admitted, casting her own eye over his attractively dishevelled blond hair and his expensive velvet clock with its inticate silver fastenings. Then he turned back from the window and smiled at her. Smiled! Draco Malfoy Smiled At Her. Hermione thought she had gone into shock. If it wasn't bad enough that she had caught herself checking out Malfoy, it seemed like he had realised it and caught her at it too. And he was smiling. The side of his mouth quirked up a little into a sort of sexy, non-hostile version of his usual sneer. Then he seemed to catch sight of something behind her- Ginny probably, she was being kind of obvious after all - and for a second his face went strangely blank, then he looked at Ginny in an assessing sort of way. Checking her out.

Hermione felt extremely annoyed now, though she couldn't rationalise why. She didn't fancy Malfoy and it didn't matter to her that he was good-looking and for a minute seemed to look at her as if he liked that she liked him and then turned and did the same thing to her friend. Just because she was looking at him, didn't mean she fancied him. Of course not.

Hermione turned her attention to Luna opposite her. She was deeply engrossed in a conversation about arithmancy with Theo. Arithmancy and Luna, who would have thought it? Although she probably wasn't a Ravenclaw for no reason, her outrageous theories had put Hermione off from ever starting a conversation with her. Her eyes travelled over Luna's heart-shaped face. She had rather thin but prettily pink lips which were usually stretched in a whimsical smile across her face, creating small dimples on her cheeks. Her skin was pale, and so was her hair but her large, moon-like eyes were a deep turquoise-blue. She had a rather thin, wispy frame, which was at the moment draped with tassled muggle scarfs, disturbingly like professor Trelawney, but thankfully unlike Ginny who was irritating Hermione more and more as the carriage journey wore on. She most certainly did not approve of Harry rejecting her so harshly in September but she could more than understand where he was coming from. It was not that Ginny was unattractive, with her long red tresses, adorable short stature and curvy body, quite the opposite in fact, but Hermione couldn't stand the way that Ginny always hankered after men as if they were trophies rather than people. She was sick of her whining on about Harry and if she was due to start it with Malfoy, Hermione might just jump off a bridge.

Draco turned his attention to the passing countryside as Granger clearly did not want to talk to him, despite his attempts to nod in the right places during her fast-paced monologue directed at Harry concerning Herbology. He didn't know why, but this irritated him on some deep level. Across from him, Pansy sat, probably fluttering her eyelashes (he refused to look at her while she was in such a clingy mood), but most definitely stroking Draco's hand in an incredibly irritating way. He turned back to Granger, perhaps he could engage her in a conversation about homework, that was her forte after all. However when he opened his mouth to speak he noticed her eyes were sweeping over his body speculatively and before he could help it he felt himself struggling not to grin as her eyes reached his face. They looked at each other for an awkward second before Draco felt the prickle of someone else's eyes boring into him. His eyes left Hermione's hurriedly and landed on a short, pretty red-head with a heart-shaped mouth, pale skin, pixie nose and pretty brown eyes. Their eyes met immediately and Draco realised with a flush of pleasure that she had been checking him out too, judging by the pretty blush that spread over her face when she realised she had been caught. He felt a surge of attraction. Weasel's sister - who would have thought?! He gave her a roguish wink, hoping her brother would spot it and start something. Unfortunately he didn't.

…ooo000ooo…

Hogsmeade was deep in snow, the cold Scottish winter was still in residence, a probably would be until March at the least this year. A bitterly cold wind swept the streets. After discovering that Zonko's had closed down, the group headed into nearby Honeydukes and gasped thankfully as the warm, honey-scented air hit them.

"Thank goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling off her self-made woollen hat, which Draco eyed with distaste. They all piled into the shop and the group dispersed itself among all the sweets. Inexplicably, Harry found that Pansy had followed him to examine the liquorice wands.

"Ugh! I hate liquorice!" she said, shaking her head

"Why are you here then?" Harry asked

Pansy ignored his question and stared down the aisle. "Look!" she giggled, pointing.

Harry looked. The members of their group had converged around a display of deluxe sugar-quills. "What?" he asked, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Everyone has their eye on someone, don't they?" Pansy said quietly.

At first Harry didn't understand, then he looked again.

Draco was watching Ginny sucking on a sugar quill as she smiled. Ron was staring at Hermione, who was discussing loudly why One Shouldn't Eat In Class with Theo, who was frowning absentmindedly at the covert looks Ginny kept shooting Draco. Luna … well, she was smiling vaguely at everyone, then tasted the sugar quill Ginny held out for her to try.

When he looked back at Pansy she looked him up and down very coyly, and he felt very hot all of a sudden, but thankfully she sauntered off as Draco approached Harry. He watched Pansy leaving with an amused air.

"How come Granger agreed to come?" he asked Harry

"I dunno," he replied "Probably because Luna, Ginny and Ron also came." He decided it was best not to mention Theo.

"It's nice." Draco said shortly.

"In what way?" Harry asked

"Nice that so many people would come. I'm glad you asked them, I was worried I'd have to shut myself in the Room of Requirement. Obviously you wouldn't have been able to protect me by yourself, if anyone had tried anything in Hogsmeade."

Draco was referring to the large group of more hostile Slytherins who seemed to follow him everywhere at a distance. Harry had had to escort him in his invisibility cloak to the Room each night so that his hiding place would not be discovered.

"They're not just here 'cause of that," Harry told him "Luna, Nott and Pansy all support you. And Ginny fancies you." he added as Draco smirked "It's just Ron and Hermione who are here because I asked them to be. Although Ron did agree to it in the first place."

"Oh." Draco fell into silence.

"How are you holding up?" Harry asked awkwardly. Draco was quiet for a while before he replied.

"I'm fine, I'm just worried that we'll have bigger fish to fry than the other Slytherins soon." He glanced at Harry and his eyes were full of worry and unspoken fear.

"Don't worry." Harry said stoutly, and tried to look confident "We don't need to go into Hogsmeade again - it isn't that great so far, anyway. And as I've taken down…" he lowered his voice "Voldemort before, then I'm sure your dad'll be a piece of cake."

Draco gave a forced smile.

"We're heading to the Three Broomsticks." Ron announced, and he Ginny and Luna took the lead as the rest of the group followed them out onto the street, Pansy winking at Harry as she followed.

As they trudged through the snow, Draco gained a smug smirk.

"What?" Harry finally asked, irritated

"It's nothing," Draco said, then smugly added "except that Pansy has her eye on you."

"I noticed." Harry said shortly "Tell her I'm not interested. Especially as she's supposed to be your fiancé." Draco simply sniggered.

"You tell her. It won't make a difference who says what, or how many times it's said."

Harry groaned "She isn't going to be like Ginny, is she, or Romilda Vane? I can't be bothered having to fend off another one."

Draco shook his head in a mock-sorrowfully manner. "Oh if only it were that simple, Harry old chap!"

"What do you mean?" Harry said suspiciously

"Don't worry, I'll help you out." Draco said seriously "Now listen carefully! Pansy has her eye on you, which means before long, _you _will be begging _her_ to go out with you."

"No I won't!" Harry said indignantly "I don't find her …flirting attractive at all! There's no way I'd fall for that!"

"Oh that?" Draco said casually "It won't affect you at first, she's only playing with you now. She doesn't think I know who she's looking at, and she's worried I'll be pissed off that it's you of all people."

"Are you?" Harry wondered aloud

"No." Draco said, smirking "Because I have my eye on someone here too, and Pansy may not be happy about it either."

Before Harry could ask, Draco turned to him "It's Weaslette, just so you know. Remember what we talked about? I did promise not to hurt her."

At this stage, Harry trusted Draco more now and was less keen on protecting Ginny, so he swallowed his protests unwillingly and decided to hope he kept his promise. He wasn't that bad that he'd wish heartbreak on Ginny.

"Anyway, back to you and my fiancé," Draco was smirking again "She won't come to you, you'll go to her."

"I will not." Harry said determinedly "Seriously, nothing she can do-"

"Don't speak too soon!" Draco sniggered "And whatever you do, don't ask her for any favours - and don't let her separate you from the group!" he called as he followed the others into the Three Broomsticks.

After a few butterbeer rounds, the group decided to return to the castle; the Hogsmeade trip had not lived up to their expectations at all. When they were climbing into the carriage, Pansy was the last to get in, and when Harry looked around, he noticed how short she was, and how high the step to get into the carriage was; it seemed the thestrals had stopped over a small hollow in the ground. Unthinkingly, he reached out a hand to help her in, and she smiled brilliantly up at him. After his mind had recovered from a temporary blankness, he mentally kicked himself, making sure he didn't look over at Draco, who would surely be smirking. The two of them then took the last seat - the rickety fold-out seat attached to the door again. And unlike Ginny, Pansy didn't trouble to keep her distance, she actually clutched Harry's arm for the entire journey, leaning into him as they rounded corners.

When they reached the grounds, the group dispersed and Harry decided not to point out to Ron (who was tagging after Hermione and Theo, attempting to interrupt their conversation) that behind him, his little sister was walking back up to the castle with Malfoy. Harry was left walking with Luna and Pansy. He avoided the eyes of the latter and hurriedly enquired into the whereabouts of the breeding grounds of Blibbering Humdingers, and soon Luna was explaining to him in detail where exactly he could find such a place. He hoped that the conversation would last him until they reached the castle, just in case there was some substance to Draco's warnings. However when Luna finally lapsed into silence, and Harry could think of no more to ask, Pansy all but ignored him, and instead began to apply lipstick as they walked. Harry watched her out the corner of his eye; her lips looked very soft and - _argh!_

Harry could not believe Draco's prediction was already coming true in part - or was it because of Draco that he was now thinking these thoughts?

…ooo000ooo…

Later that night, Ginny and Draco snuck into the castle from the grounds; Draco taken her up on her offer to show him the secret passage under the whomping willow and they had snuck off as the rest of the group reached Hagrid's hut. After exploring the shrieking shack at length then making their way along the small passageway and into the grounds, it was already dark and they only had half an hour until curfew, but they didn't rush.

Draco had let his eyes wander over Ginny's pretty face at every opportunity, particularly enjoying the delicate spread of freckles over her pixie nose. He'd always secretly liked freckles.

Ginny, for her part also seemed to catch his eye every time he turned around, and when this happened, he tried to give her some indication that he had noticed just so that she would blush again, whether by smirking at her, winking at her, or just staring back unashamedly.

When they reached the castle, he gallantly offered to walk her to the Gryffindor common room, and she accepted, however within mere minutes they heard a soft mew behind them, and they whipped around to see Mrs Norris's lamp-like eyes upon them, her tail in the air.

"Run!" Ginny whispered urgently as she turned and padded around the corner, probably to fetch Filch. Draco obeyed and followed her, jogging round a corner and up two flights of stairs. They finally paused, still a floor below the Gryffindor tower, and Draco checked the time.

"It's still a minute 'till curfew - you can make it-" but he stopped and they both listened intently. Footsteps were echoing in the distance. They listened for another few seconds to confirm they were coming closer, and then Draco tugged her towards the nearest door.

"In here!" he whispered, and she hurried inside, and he following trying to shut the door behind him as silently as possible. They waited.

Ginny had never thought this would ever happen. She was in one of Filch's cupboards in the middle of the night with none other than Draco Malfoy. So what if it had been an accident, that they really were hiding from Filch rather than purposefully meeting up in secret like they did in her daydreams. The fact was, they were enclosed in a tight space for at least five minutes and she was going to make the most of it and let her imagination run wild. She thanked the large dustbin behind her which forced them both into such close proximity.

She never intended to try anything, she was just going to imagine what it would be like if Draco -

She stopped, distracted. Malfoy was breathing heavily on the side of her face, still out of breath from running. They were facing each other in the dark. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"Draco…?" she whispered, then almost choked with a rush of adrenaline when suddenly she felt him pull her gently forwards by her shoulders and stoop down, and the next thing she knew he had stolen her idea and his lips were on hers.

…ooo000ooo…

Draco found his mind wandering from whatever Pansy was saying as they walked back into the common room, her clutching his arm as if he was some kind of trophy. He had met her on his way into the dungeons as she left the prefect's bathroom and she insisted that he would be safe enough to join her in the common room before he went to bed.

"C'mon Draco, it'll be fine. It's been ages since we've talked!"

He had mindlessly agreed, too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

He didn't know what he had been thinking. Which side was he really on? He still didn't know, he'd thought he was with Harry, yet he still hadn't told his Pansy, and he hadn't meant to tangle things up further.

He had done the unthinkable, snogging a Gryffindor - Weasel's baby sister no less! What would Pansy say when she found out - and she always did - laugh at him probably. Being a Gryffindor, the Weaslette would probably be expecting some sort of relationship to emerge between them now…he'd have to move quickly if he didn't want the news to spread before he dumped her. But did he want to dump her? He should, if he didn't want to break her heart, as he had promised Harry. She was sure to find out his lies.

At this rate he would be surprised if the whole school didn't find out his secrets before long. It felt as if he had 'guilty' tattooed across his forehead.

Weaslette was pretty, that was for sure…_and I haven't done a Gryffindor before!_ He felt slightly ashamed after thinking that. Weas- Ginny wasn't a whore just because she was a Weasley, and he had to get over that prejudice sooner or later. It was only her brother, really who was a disgrace to the name of wizard, because despite his act, he knew he could never like Ronald Weasley this was partly, but not mostly down to the fact that the stupid Weasel pulled childish faces at him every time Harry's back was turned. Prize idiot that one, and he couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he found out who'd snogged his ickle baby sister!

But anyway, Ginny wasn't a slut. She was inexperienced, almost certainly a virgin, and whatever she tried to act like, she was definitely an innocent. Draco, being an excellent actor himself, could see right through her own act. She was attracted to him, but terrified too - well more likely over what everyone else would say if they knew what she was doing with the prince of Slytherin. He was starting to really enjoy watching her blush, shyness being something he had not had in a girl before. He also loved the way she looked when she was angry…he remembered the look on her face when Potter had told her to put her clothes back on and go play with her little friends back on the train platform…ha! She had deserved that one though, but Merlin hadn't she looked gorgeous?

He and Pansy stepped into the common room and she started to lead him to the chair in the middle of the room, but he tugged her towards a quieter corner.

"Oooh Draco!" she giggled, fluttering her eyelashes and Draco saw two third years nearby roll their eyes.

"Stuff a sock in it Pans" he muttered, sitting down and waiting for her to drape herself over him as was her usual position.

"What's wrong Drakie-poo?" she laughed quietly as she sat on his lap, he arm around his neck

"Don't fucking call me that!" he snapped

"Alright." she agreed simply, and began kissing the side of his face.

"God you're the most irritating person I've ever met!" he pushed her away.

"Well," she trailed a finger down his nose "Are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to irritate it out of you?" she spoke in a more business-like tone, but still planted a wet kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Why are we doing this Pans?" he said quietly. Pansy seemed to sit up a little straighter, and Draco knew why; she loved it when he was in the mood to 'talk about feelings' and she could clearly tell that something was coming.

"Doing what?" she answered, taking his hand. He shook her off again.

"Doing this. We're always going around practically on top of each other, it's ridiculous."

"I'm you're girlfriend, how is that ridiculous?"

"Pfft! Pans, you don't even fancy me!"

"Course I do! You're gorgeous! Look at you!"

"I have. And I agree, but that doesn't mean you fancy me. And you know I don't fancy you."

"So? What is this about? We've been together since we first laid eyes on each other Draco -"

"More like since your mother laid eyes on the Malfoy fortune! Do you know, for someone who I'm going to marry, doesn't it strike you as odd that even though we've been together for years, we've never done more than snog -"

"So you want to shag now, is that it? I've never stopped you from doing anything Draco-"

"No! I don't want to shag you, I can't imagine anything more revolting! And I'm sick of snogging you too Pansy! You've fucked half of Slytherin, and so have I - "

"Speak for yourself! I don't flaunt myself as much as you think!" She actually seemed offended at this to Draco's surprise.

"The point is, we've never been faithful to each other, or even been particularly attracted to each other - don't look at me like that! Don't act like you've ever liked _my_ looks for more than using me to show off!"

"Don't tell me you're getting all Hufflepuff on me, Draco, you're just as bad. Just spit it out, what are you after? Clearly you don't want to start begin faithful, judging by the lip gloss on your face! "

"I want to split up."

Draco hadn't known where he had been going with this argument until that had come out of his mouth, and when it did, he suddenly felt a weight lift off his shoulders. There was a silence while Pansy digested this information and Draco watched her face to gauge her reaction. Her lips were pursed but her eyes were thoughtful.

"Why?" she said finally

"We're best friends, that's why." Draco had never said anything so nice to Pansy but he felt now was the time, if ever. "We've been together forever but it's not doing anything for either of us that couldn't happen if we were just friends. I want to date other people."

Pansy sighed and looked him in the eye as if she was searching for something. "It's not that simple and you know that. We're engaged. What will you tell our parents? This isn't our choice to make."

"Well it should be."

"Who do you want to date anyway?" Pansy suddenly fired up "You can still date people when you're with me! It hasn't stopped you before!"

"Dating is not the same as shagging Pans."

"Still, you don't need to dump me just because you want to be with someone else. You know what the rule is in Slytherin - no one cares if you fuck their fiancé, as long as you don't touch their girlfriend!" She laughed, "That sounded funny, didn't it? There's a lot of people in Slytherin who're in the same situation we're in, Draco, you know they wouldn't think anything of you dating someone else unofficially at the same time as me." suddenly her head snapped back round to look him in the eye "Unless they're not in Slytherin!" Draco could see her mind working furiously as she scanned his face. He could never lie to Pansy - Pansy had taught _him _how to lie.

"No she's not. But I don't want to talk about this."

Pansy sat on Draco's knee trying to keep a level head. She was furious that Draco wanted to split up, but at the same time she agreed with him. She didn't enjoy snogging him half as much as she did with Theo, despite Theo's own obsession with her boyfriend, but she couldn't help feeling a little lost at the idea that they were going to be apart, permanently.

And then there was their parents to think about! Pansy's mother would fly off the handle if she heard this conversation, and she didn't think Mrs Malfoy would be overjoyed either - especially as the girl Draco had his eye on was in another house. But then he was spending so much time with Potter these days - gorgeous Potter! She let herself swoon a little. Now, it was a shame that Draco wasn't into men much these days, because they would make a stunning couple…

She snapped back into the present. _Who was it! _She had to know! She was growing even more certain that it was Hermione Granger after how he had been staring at her in the carriage today, but surely not! She had noticed Draco looking at her ever since third year, but he couldn't! Not with a mudblood! His parents would do worse than disown him!

Draco relaxed slightly as they sat in silence. He could almost hear Pansy's thoughts going into overdrive, but she'd been quiet long enough that he hoped she would drop the subject.

"Is it Granger?" Pansy said suddenly, jolting him out of this comfortable notion

"_What?!_" he yelped, then lowered his voice, muttering furiously "No! Pansy! How could you think - no!" After that comment Draco thought it was probably best to tell Pansy and get it over with "It's Ginny Weasley!"

Pansy's eyes widened and she was quiet for a second. Then she burst into giggles "The Weaslette! Seriously!" she spotted his expression and tried to keep a straight face "Draco are you sure?"

"I was snogging her fifteen minutes ago."

Pansy looked delighted "Oh but Draco! Think how furious her brother will be when he finds out!" Draco smirked. He was looking forward to that too. "And - " her voice became thoughtful "She's actually not bad. Looks-wise I mean."

"Yeah." said Draco "So you don't mind splitting up then? You know what Gryffindors are like, she won't like me keeping you on as a fiancé. And we don't need to tell our parents."

Pansy's mind raced. She _could _just give Draco what he wanted. But there was an opportunity for her here too. Potter's face flashed into her mind. She could get him if she wanted. She knew she was pretty, and someone like Potter would be a pushover as long as he wasn't in a relationship with anyone else. The female Weasley had been her main opponent, but with Draco interested in her, she would be out of the way. The field was clear for her to strike, if she chose to. She just wasn't sure if she was serious enough about her daydreams to actually give Potter a go. But if Draco was after a Weasley, surely he couldn't laugh?

"I'll make you a deal." she said finally. Draco didn't look surprised, they were both Slytherins and making a deal always went two ways.

"What do you want?"

Pansy quickly made up her mind "It's a _who_, not a what, actually." she took a breath as she saw Draco look smug, _He knows._

"You know you're not going to be good for him, right?" Draco said calmly "You'll ruin 'His Holiness', 'Saviour of the Wizarding World', the 'Chosen One' etcetera. He won't know what's hit him, then he'll probably die of a broken heart when you're done. "

"What do you care?" She replied in a cold voice. Her eyebrows were raised and she stared him boldly in the eye. Suddenly Draco knew the game was up.

"You're not _really _on his side, _are you _Draco_?_"

Draco drew a breath.

"Pans." He said desperately as she continued to stare him in the eye "Pans, please say you still want to be with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said frostily, her eyebrows still raised "I thought you wanted to dump me".

"You know I don't mean it like that, I can tell you know." The silence was icy. "Pans, you're my best friend - I meant that, but I didn't know if you like me for me, and not for … other things."

Pansy remained silent and looked away. Draco sat frozen.

"Draco, just tell me the exact truth, in words, just this once and I'll tell you truthfully what I'm going to do about it."

"Well," Draco rested his hand on his wand, hand shaking. "I really do want to date Weasley. And she won't want to if I'm also with you. And…" he paused, tightening the grip on his wand "I want to know _exactly _what your intentions are with Harry."

"Why?" she hissed

"Because…because I'm hoping he'll be my escape route."

He whipped his wand out and pressed it to her temple, but Pansy hadn't moved an inch. Instead, when she turned her head back to face him her eyes were glassy with tears.

"Oh Draco. You really don't trust me?"

"Can I?" he asked, holding his breath

"Of course!" she whispered "Draco! How can you think for a second I want to - to -" her voice faltered "I thought we _knew _each other!"

Draco stared at the tears falling down her face mutely. Then he took her hand, lowering his wand.

"I'm sorry."

"I knew right from the start." she whispered "I know you, even if you don't know me. I knew you would either mess it up or turn to Dumbledore, but I didn't think … not Potter."

"I think he might actually do it Pans, " he replied, still in shock from the unexpected revelations "he might really be able to finish him off. "

"Are you sure?"

"No. How can I be? But Pansy, he's different from most people. Special. It sounds stupid, but … people just _aren't _that selfless. It's not just because he's a Gryffindor, it's something else. I honestly think that he'll do his best to kill Him, even if it's not in his best interests anymore."

"Do his best? That's not enough. What if he fails?"

"He won't fail." Draco said, turning to meet her eyes "There's something we don't know, I'm sure of it. Why else would Dumbledore be training him up in private lessons?"

"He is?" Pansy sounded astounded

"Harry doesn't talk about it, but I heard him talking to Weasel. But if Dumbledore believes it…besides, Harry Potter's friends don't get _crucio_'d for their mistakes." he added sourly.

The two sat in speculative silence.

"I'm with you Draco." Pansy said suddenly "But you have to help me too. My parents -"

"Of course." Draco said firmly, his heart suddenly light.

"Have you been truthful with Harry? Completely?" she asked suddenly

"No. Not yet." Draco said

"And what if he finds out?"

"I will tell him. I just need time."

"Just don't take too long." she advised.

"I should go." Draco looked at his watch "I haven't got Potter's invisibility cloak to get me back to the Room, and its after curfew already."

"I'll walk you." she said, squeezing his hand.

"But you still haven't told me your intentions with Potter. If we're going to do this Pans, you can't mess him around."

"You actually care though, don't you? About his feelings?"

"Shut it Pansy, I care about our lives." But Draco knew from her smirk that she saw through him

"Don't worry Drakie-poo, you can have Ginny, and I'll have Harry and I'll be nice to him. Seriously," she added at his scowl "I'm hoping he'll be for keeps."

"Really?!" he wheeled round to stare at her "You think you could settle down with someone like that? You're still young - and not used to being faithful, I might add."

"Listen," she tugged him to a halt outside the common room "I hope you've not been exaggerating my sex life to Harry - oh Draco!" she exclaimed at his guilty expression

"Well you do sleep -"

"I do _not! _" She exclaimed indignantly "I don't! I have a reputation because I created it, not because it's true!"

"But Nott-"

"Was a mistake!"

"Yes, a continuing one apparently. And Baddock-"

"Draco! Enough!"

Draco fell into silence, considering the situation as they walked. He was going to date someone from Gryffindor and Pansy was after someone similarly shocking with a lightening scar.

"I think we've come a long way since first year." he said finally

…ooo000ooo…

Draco pushed through a crowd of whispering fifth years to read the large sheet of parchment attached onto a notice board on the first floor corridor. He'd seen them dotted all around the school on his search for Ginny, but had been so preoccupied with thoughts of what to do about the situation that he hadn't even thought to read them. Now that he was certain of her proximity however, he felt an urgent need to stall as much as possible. He needed to think things through after all.

_SPRING BALL_

_Students are informed that a ball is to be held during the Easter Break for years four to seven._

_Separate parties will be held in house common rooms for younger students, although younger students may go to the ball if invited by an older student._

_Students wishing to attend the Spring Ball must put their names down to stay at Hogwarts over the Easter Break on the attached sheet._

Draco stared at the notice thoughtfully before making up his mind to continue his search. He finally paused halfway down the marble stairs to the entrance hall as he heard a familiar laugh. She was with her friends in the hall below, giggling like so many of the other females. She'd probably read one of the posters.

She really was something, that girl. Petite - but without looking too young, with curves in all the right places…and that long red hair…it really was beautiful. He remembered how silky it had felt, and immediately couldn't wait to run his fingers through it again.

He walked slowly down the marble staircase, allowing the crowds of students on their way to classes on the first floor to wash past them. He barely noticed their chattering voices, too focussed on how best to approach her.

Should he pull her aside while her friends were looking the other way? No, the red head was the centre of attention, laughing gaily in the centre of the group. Perhaps he should go for the direct approach and ask her in front of them? In fact, why not ask her in front of her brother while he was at it?

_Nah…she might say no if I end up fighting Weasel again._

In fact, maybe an audience wasn't the best thing. He'd noticed Ginny could be self-conscious at times…although surely that wouldn't stop her from accepting?

_If I got rejected by a Weasley I'd never recover my reputation._

But she wouldn't refuse. Not after the way she'd looked at him last night.

_Even a Weasley wouldn't have the bad taste to turn down me._

"C'mon Romilda!" Draco quickly forced away a smile as he grew close enough to hear Ginny's words "He's heading out the door, I can see him." she sounded bored and slightly irritated.

He began to panic when Ginny and her friends began to make their way towards the doors. He dithered for a moment - say something now, or just leave it?

"Weasley!" he called, then almost choked. He hadn't thought of what he was going to say yet!

_What the fuck? I've asked loads of girls out before, what's the problem?_

Ginny turned and looked around. It was a few moments before her eyes fell on Draco and an expression of mingled fear and hope crossed her face.

"Malfoy?"

At her words, he saw her friends turn around and their eyes honed in on him like a magnet. He suppressed the urge to say 'Um' and sent her an appraising smirk to cover the awkward moment.

"Where are you off to, Weasley?" he said as he walked closer.

"Care - care of magical creatures, why?" her cheeks flashed a luminous scarlet as she stuttered and looked away.

Draco looked up at her friends who were edging closer as if hoping he wouldn't notice. To his horror, Romilda Vane had the audacity to _wink _at him.

"Something in your eye, Vane?" Draco called, before he could stop himself "Or-" he almost hesitated, remembering that this was Ginny's friend, then realised how foolish he would look, stopping midway through a sentence. "- is that some kind of nervous twitch you have?"

The girl giggled but she did back off. Slightly.

He looked back at Ginny, who looked nervous but expectant, and remembered she was waiting for an answer.

_Shit. Say something._

He opened his mouth.

_Something that doesn't sound ridiculously sappy._

"Weasley."

_Great. _

"Yes?" Ginny looked more confused than nervous now.

For a moment Draco teetered on the edge of just saying 'Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me' or even worse, 'Do you want to be my girlfriend', but then he saw Romilda whispering behind her hand to a blond, the two of them shooting him covert looks, and he had a brainwave.

"I was going to ask you if you knew what class Harry's in at the moment, but while we're here, do you care to explain to me why your cronies are looking at me in that repulsive manner?"

The light went right out of Ginny's eyes and Draco felt his something inside him grow heavy.

_Right. Direct approach would have been better._

"Oh." she said dully "They're just being stupid. I'll get them to stop."

Draco suppressed a sigh, trust Weasley to be difficult. _She could have just said they fancied me, but nooo…_

"Your brother is stupid too, but he doesn't giggle and flutter his eyelashes at me." Draco prompted, then felt like kicking himself.

_Tip: don't insult a girl's family when you're going to ask her out. _

Thankfully, Ginny's lips twitched at the thought of this. "Well I'm relieved about that," she said, still looking morose "but don't mind them. They're like that with almost anything in trousers."

"Excuse me?" he schooled his expression into one of great offence and Ginny looked puzzled.

"I said Romilda's like that with-"

"How dare she!" he snapped, his voice irate

"Wha-?"

"Weasley! Do I _look _like I should be categorised in that disgustingly vague and …well frankly _common _manner?! Anything in trousers? I ask you!"

"I - er - Malfoy, it was only an expression!"

"Vane!" Draco barked, wheeling to face the girl, who had been tiptoeing closer in order to eavesdrop. She looked warily pleased to be addressed directly by him again, but backed away again slightly at his tone. "Surely you don't class me with idiots like _that _berk?" he nodded at Roger Davies, who Ginny's other friends were ogling from across the entrance hall.

Unfortunately Romilda found her voice and licked her lips suggestively, purring "No, _Draco_ I'd say you were a few steps up from him."

Draco continued his monologue.

"Really?." Vane was nodding enthusiastically, while he could sense Ginny backing away. "So…" Draco raised an eyebrow suggestively, looking the girl up and down, as she almost quivered under his gaze "surely you don't think that someone like _you _has any kind of chance with someone like _me_?"

Draco was impressed at how quickly the girl hid her indignation, but almost groaned at her reply.

"Oh Draco, I think if you gave someone like _me_ a chance you might find you have more than _you _can handle!"

"Someone like _you_?" he said archly, vaguely hoping that Ginny hadn't sidled out of the room by now "I think not." his voice was cold and cutting and he turned and walked away, spotting Ginny looking heavily depressed not far away.

"So, Weasley where's Harry then?"

"I think he has a free period." she said with a weak smile

"Excellent." he said, then shivered with disgust. "God, I can't believe _Vane _of all people thought I'd sink as low as to _date_ her! Or should I say 'it' ?" he added thoughtfully.

Ginny's smile was more of a grimace now. "Yeah, I suppose. She probably didn't expect you to have such high standards. I suppose mere mortals -"

Her voice was starting to sound rather hard so Draco cut her off.

"Of course. The spot beside me clearly has a sign reading 'Reserved for someone _worth _looking at'. So what do you say?" he said brightly, cheered that he had got there at last. In a roundabout way.

Ginny merely stared at him. "What do I say about what?"

"Did I forget to mention the brackets?"

"Brackets? What? Malfoy - "

"On my sign. In brackets, next to 'worth looking at'-"

"I'm going to be late for class Mal-"

"Gorgeous, exquisite, smart - ring any bells, Weasley?' he smirked at her and her face turned red.

"Look Malfoy, I don't know what you're trying to say. If you're making fun of me you can just shove it-"

Draco rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Right, I'll just cross 'smart' off the sign then, shall I? I'm asking you out Weasley!"

The girl stared at him suspiciously, searching his face for something.

"Usually a yes or no answer is required in these situations." he added sarcastically as the silence grew prolonged.

"Wait. You asking me out?"

He raised his eyebrows and didn't reply and her face went a deep red which he hadn't yet witnessed.

_Beautiful._

"I do love it when you blush Weasley, but I'm afraid that as you mentioned, you're late for class, so there really isn't enough time for you to run through your full repertoire. Would you prefer if I applied by owl and then you could RSVP with your answer?"

Ginny looked positively ill. "Are you being serious or making fun of me?"

"I won't be serious for much longer if you don't stop asking me stupid questions."

"Yes!" she said hurriedly, then narrowed her eyes at him, clearly expecting a cruel punch line.

"Excellent! Meet me by the doors at lunchtime?" he said brightly while her expression grew disbelieving.

"Okay."

He turned and walked back up the stairs without a goodbye, fighting, for the first time he could remember, to keep a smile off his face. He only hoped she also appreciated his taking her friend down a peg or two.

…ooo000ooo…

"And so," Hermione concluded "If you remember to just hold your concentration right until the very end of the wand movement, it should work!"

"Is that really all there is to it?" Theo asked, looking amazed "That's the only reason it only works half the time?"

"It's an easy mistake to make," Hermione said kindly "But, as your spells have worked every time I remind you to concentrate, I'm sure that's the cause."

Theo and Hermione were ensconced in the library yet again, huddled over Theo's transfiguration textbooks. They had arranged to meet first thing after breakfast to make the most of their shared free period

"I don't know how to thank you." Theo said relieved "McGonagall hates me, I swear it, but if you're right, from now on she won't have a reason to pick on me!"

Butterflies in her stomach, Hermione decided that now was a good enough time as any to strike.

"Actually, Theo, there is something you could do for me." she said, her voice shaking.

"Anything, O wise and wondrous Hermione!" Theo joked, turning to her.

"You - you could -" she forced the words out shyly "take me to the Spring Ball?"

Theo stared back at her "Me?" then his expression cleared "You mean as friends?"

Hermione blushed and stammered "Well…Actually, I was hoping you liked me more than as a friend…"

There! She'd said it!

But then the expression on Theo's face made her heart sink.

"Hermione…I do like you, but …"

Her insides seemed to wither in embarrassment. _He doesn't feel the same._

"It's just, there's someone else I've liked for a while, and I'm hoping to go with them. Or at least, if I don't, I don't want them to think I'm not available. It's not really fair on you to say yes when I like someone else. I'm sorry!" he searched her face anxiously as she searched for words.

"Who is it?" she managed, remembering the way he had ignored her in Hogsmeade in favour of Luna.

Theo looked guilty "I don't really think I should say-"

"Are they blonde?" she prompted, and struggled to hold in the tears at his guilty expression

"I better go." she mumbled, gathering up her books

"Hermione, I'm so sorry…" Theo's voice trailed off as she fled.

…ooo000ooo…

"Draco!" A voice hissed, and a hand grabbed the Slytherin by the shoulder, causing him to trip on his robes and stumble backwards. There was a brief moment of flailing arms before Harry Potter found himself crushed between the wall and Draco's back as the other boy slid down to the floor.

The smile that had been threatening to escape Draco's lips for the last hour broke out in the shape of a startled laugh, which quickly became joyful as Harry too began to snigger.

"So much for being quiet!" Harry laughed, then stopped abruptly and Draco silenced himself with difficulty.

"What?" he said uneasily as Harry stared at his face, frowning. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Did someone offer you something to eat?"

"What?"

"Or did you drink something? Something that someone could have tampered with?"

"_What_? Potter, what's wrong?"

"Draco, you're _smiling_. And laughing!" Harry stared at him as if he was an alien.

"It's been known to happen!"

_Ugh. I'd better not look love-struck. As if I would! _He gave a haughty sniff.

"No it hasn't! Not with you! And most of the time you're not laughing, you're _sniggering_!"

"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't realise you've been categorising my laughs!"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. Come on, we're nearly ten minutes late for potions. That's pushing it, even for Slughorn. Where were you anyway?"

Harry immediately seemed to forget what they had been talking about and launched into a diatribe about the upcoming ball.

"I take it you saw the posters then?" Draco interrupted him.

"Saw them? How could I miss them! There was about fifty girls around each one! And every time I walked past one at least five broke off from the rest of the pack to ask me to go with them!"

Harry paused to look at Draco, who eyed him as if he were mad.

"Potter you know most men would kill for that sort of following? Are you sure Weasel wasn't onto something when he said you were gay?"

"Shut up!" Harry snapped playfully "But really, who am I going to go with? I barely knew most of the girls who asked me, and I don't want to go with a girl who just wants to go with me because I'm Harry Potter anyway!"

His voice was becoming a whine again, and they were nearing the Slughorn's classroom anyway, so Draco motioned for him to speak quieter.

"Just calm down. There's no need to panic, just ask a girl to go as a friend. You have friends who are girls, right? If not I'm sure Pansy will accompany you."

Harry opened his mouth indignantly, but Draco merely smirked and made to open the classroom door so that he had no choice but to be quiet.

"Come now boys," Slughorn said chidingly as they entered "you're very late and I don't want to have to take points, so don't do it again. Find your seats."

"I'm not taking Pansy." Harry said immediately as Slughorn started speaking again.

"Whatever." Draco dropped into his seat "What girls do you know who you wouldn't mind going with then?"

"I dunno. I suppose Ginny would have gone with me before but …"

"She's going with someone else." Draco said a little too sharply and Harry looked up, hurt.

"All right! I didn't know, who's she going with?"

Draco thought frantically.

"Hang on…" Harry scanned Draco's still face, a suspicious look growing in his eyes. Finally Draco didn't help it and he grinned.

_I'm GRINNING! What's wrong with me? Enough!_

Unfortunately his facial muscles didn't seem to want to obey.

"You didn't ask her!" Harry stated, looking astonished.

Draco closed his eyes and forcible willed the grin from his face, and this time it seemed to work.

"What so you and Ginny are - ?"

He nodded, keeping his eyes closed.

"Ron is going to _kill _you!"

This time Draco didn't bother to hide his grin "I know."

…ooo000ooo…

"Ginny!" Ron broke into a run across the entrance hall as he spotted his sister, a grin nearly splitting his face "You won't believe this! Come on, I want to tell everyone at the same time!" he made a grab for her arm, but she stepped back.

"I can't Ron, I'm meeting someone. Tell me now - or afterwards, if you like."

Ron's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she hadn't been quick enough to turn away an hide the guilty blush on her cheeks.

"What do you mean you're meeting someone? Is it a boy?"

"It's none of your business Ron!" Ginny said angrily, stepping away.

"Of course it's my business!" he grabbed her arm "How am I supposed to protect you if I don't know who to warn not to hurt you!"

"Get off me Ron! It's not your job to protect me!"

"Oh yeah, then whose is it?"

"That would be mine, Weasley."

Ron whirled around to face Harry who looked oddly tense and Malfoy who looked grim.

"And I'll thank you to let go of my girlfriend."

There was a heavy silence during which, as Ron's ears began to grow red, Malfoy's face became as hard and cold as stone and Ginny grinned wildly.

Harry had originally intended to interrupt the two before a fight could commence, but he began to feel panicky at the thought of it. The atmosphere was so thick with brewing anger that he feared any wrong move or words would result in a sudden fist in his face from either boy. As Ron and Draco locked eyes a silent chill seemed to pulse through the room and it fell silent.

"What's going on in here?!" came a shrill voice and Harry breathed a sigh of relief as Hermione immediately honed in on the two boys and seemed to zip through the crowd to reach them.

"I said what's going on? _Ron_?" Her voice was demanding, as if prompting him to remember something.

Ron twitched and then reluctantly looked at her.

"Malfoy here," he practically seethed "was about to tell me why he's under the impression that Ginny is his girlfriend" he looked threateningly at Ginny "because she wouldn't do such a stupid thing, would she?"

Draco's jaw muscle twitched violently, and Ginny raised her chin defiantly, but before she could answer, Hermione cut in.

"Really? Draco and Ginny are going out? How lovely for them!" Harry suddenly noticed how brittle her voice sounded, and her eyes were red as if from crying.

"WHAT!" Ron bellowed, causing everyone to jump "I'M NOT HAVING MY SISTER GO OUT WITH A FILTHY SLYTHERIN!"

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione shrieked suddenly, looking furious "Don't you _dare _shout at me! Who do you think you are!"

Harry stared at Hermione, aghast and Ron seemed to shrink slightly.

"There is _nothing _wrong with being a Slytherin! It's people like You-Know-Who who are prejudiced, not us!"

"Are you trying to say I'm like You-Know-Who?" Ron said angrily

"No! I'm saying that the Ron I know is nothing like You-Know-Who and if it looks like I was wrong then I'm going to have to re-think some things I thought I knew about you!" Hermione's expression was forcibly controlled, although she couldn't hide the quaver in her voice.

"Oh yeah!" Ron snapped "Like what? Did you think me and Malfoy here were best of friends? Because-"

"No Ron!" she said coldly "I meant that if you really are this prejudiced I'm going to have to rethink going to the Spring Ball with you, because after all the work I've done for House Elf rights, I'd be a complete hypocrite to go with someone who is obviously prejudiced and sexist!"

Frenzied whispers broke out amongst the onlookers.

"What?!" Ron said, then dropped his voice to a whisper "Hermione - you don't mean - what have house elves got to do with - and I'm not sexist!" he said indignantly.

"It's the principal of it, Ron! And if you're not sexist, then why do you seem to think that Ginny has no right to make her own decisions about her personal life? Or that she can't protect herself? Now if you don't want me to be forced to change my mind about the ball, you'd better show me that you can be mature and get into the dining hall and leave Ginny and Malfoy alone!"

For several long seconds Ron and Hermione simply glared at one another, and suddenly Harry knew that Ron was going to refuse. He wasn't going to make a fool of himself in front of all these people watching. He glanced around quickly for a distraction.

His eyes landed on Luna, who beamed at him.

Surely there was something else?

_The sacrifices I make for friendship._

He opened his mouth, but Luna beat him to him.

"Hello Harry!" Luna said brightly into the silence and everyone looked at them "Is there a reason that you're staring at me?"

Even Ron and Hermione had turned to look at them. Harry wished he could sink through the floor, but he had a duty to his friends.

"Er - yes Luna, actually I was going to ask you - as a _friend_ -" he added a little loudly "if you wanted to go to the ball with me?"

The hall filled with laughter and indignant female gasps, but Luna beamed and gave an affirmative answer and a nod, although Harry couldn't hear her above the fervent voices discussing this new development. When he turned around however, no one noticed that Ron and Hermione were walking into the hall.

"She's got him whipped!" Draco chortled, but found himself distracted by the small, warm hand that tugged his sleeve in the direction of the grounds.

"I don't believe him!" Ginny fumed, her face pink with embarrassment "I'm so sorry Draco, Ron's just…well you know Ron." she glanced up at him, suddenly timid, then blushed deeply when Draco took her hand properly, leading her in the direction of the lake.

"Just be glad that, other than the hair, you have almost no family resemblance to him." Draco said with a smirk, then felt Ginny's hand tense in his. "What?" he stopped and turned to look at Ginny, who looked hurt.

"You mean - you wouldn't like me if-?" her trembling voice made something in Draco's stomach feel odd.

"I was only joking Weasley." he said, feeling embarrassed, then realising how stiff he must sound, added; "Don't be silly," his voice softer.

Ginny blushed yet again. "You can call me Ginny, you know."

Draco smirked evilly "Do you want to call me Drakie, and then we'll skip around holding hands?" He waited for her to laugh, but instead Ginny's face crumpled.

"Joking." he muttered.

"Oh!" surprise dawned on her freckled face, quickly followed by a giggle. The corner of Draco's mouth twitched, and Ginny covered her mouth with her hands in an effort to suppress her laughter. Finally, Draco's smirk turned into a smile, and though he turned away to hide it, it only grew larger when he felt her hand slip back into his.


	13. Chapter 12

_I don't own Harry Potter, JK does. I don't own money, JK does._

Hermione managed to struggle through lunch with Ron barely talking to her, and even managed her double period of Arithmancy where thankfully she didn't have to work with her usual partner. After that however, she fled back to Gryffindor, only just holding back the tears which had been threatening to escape since lunchtime.

She and Ron had been in the common room before lunch when he'd asked her, and it had been beautiful, it had been perfect, but unfortunately she'd only just been thinking about Theo and how he had rejected her for Luna.

It didn't even make her feel better than Luna was now going with Harry.

As Ron had looked up at her hopefully, bouquet of roses in hand, she told herself firmly that this was what she had been longing for since the beginning of term, that Theo was just a phase. But once the word had escaped her mouth, she couldn't take it back and then Ron had smiled his beautiful smile, and he'd kissed her.

She'd told him she just needed to put some things away in her room, and when Ron had asked her if she was okay Hermione had smiled tremulously and nodded and fled up to her dormitory.

And now she knew that without a doubt, she had no feelings for Ron. Whatever might have been, they had waited too long. But it was too late to say no, and she knew he'd expect her to be his girlfriend after the ball. He probably thought she was now. Because Ron wouldn't think to explicitly ask her out, he would expect her to just 'get it'.

She threw herself onto her bed, and found that her cheeks were wet.

_I can't believe I did that. I can't believe it. Why did I do it? Stupid stupid stupid!_

Why was she leading Ron on? And how could she ever look at Theo the same way again? She had lost a friend and a crush at the same time. _Crush! I thought I loved him! _And then Ron! How dare he ask her to the Ball like that, right after Theo had rejected her! And why had she said yes? She'd given up on Ron ages ago, gotten over him - _and now he finally decides he likes me! _

As she sobbed into her pillow she tried to picture herself dancing happily with Ron at the ball, he in smart dress robes and she moving gracefully in his arms, but in her thoughts his robes turned to the hideous frilly ones he'd worn in fourth year, and then he turned into Theo, who wore a set of brilliant blue robes, and he smiled down at her with his mismatched eyes and she sobbed harder.

_Ron would hate it if he knew he was second choice to a Slytherin, _she thought as she sniffled, _even if it was only Theo, not someone like Malfoy. _

_They're down there right now. _Hermione suddenly realised _Down at the pitch, Harry and Draco. _They were having one of their flying sessions, she remembered. _I wonder…_

What exactly did Harry and Draco get up to, down at the quidditch pitch? Did they really fly and practise quidditch, or was Malfoy somehow using this time alone with Harry in an isolated spot of the grounds to lure him into some kind of trap, or talk him into something dangerous?

It had been weird at first, seeing Harry and Draco walk through corridors together, smiling stiffly as they said hello or goodbye. And then, when their conversations became less wooden, how much stranger it had been to see Malfoy chuckling at one of Harry's jokes, or to see Harry laughing in such a friendly manner at Malfoy's vanity as he preened at his reflection in the back of his prefect badge. Hermione was finding it very hard to maintain her belief that Draco was deceiving Harry in some way, but the more she thought about it, the more she began to feel that if she could just see how they were like alone, then she would be able to find out. Was Malfoy really trying to entice Harry into a darker way of thinking? Was he trying to get information from him? Or was he planning to lead him into danger?

Unwilling to let her thoughts drift back to Ron and Theo, Hermione thought and thought over what Malfoy could really be up to, the questions churning over and over in her mind. Finally, she decided that the best way to find out what his intentions were, was to observe him alone with Harry firsthand.

Hermione watched them until it grew dark. Or rather, she watched Draco as she sat huddled under Harry's cloak. Perhaps it was her emotional state that made her act so rashly, or perhaps it was simply the notion that her watching Draco would upset Ron immensely, but she had felt an illicit rush of adrenaline and pleasure as she had stolen Harry's cloak right out of his trunk, ignoring Seamus and Dean as she waved them away so they wouldn't see what she was doing. If Seamus and Dean said anything about her rooting in his trunk, she'd make up an excuse involving homework and textbooks, that'd probably work.

All thoughts of finding out if Malfoy was deceiving them all had deserted her; she found herself smiling as Draco whizzed by the top stand where she sat, catching a glimpse of his grinning face. There was no harm in looking, after all. The more she thought about it, the more she liked his pale skin, like moonlight in the dusk, the way his hair was whipped back in the wind and of course the small dimples that appeared when he gave a true smile; something that she had seen very rarely.

It was only when the two boys touched down on the pitch when Hermione looked at her watch and realised it was ten minutes to curfew.

_Oh no, I'm not going to make it back in time - and neither are they! _

She hurried down all the steps to the ground, by which time Draco and Harry were entering the castle at a run. She decided to imitate them, and stuffed the cloak in her pocket so she could run unhindered. She headed straight for the Gryffindor tower. Harry would need his cloak to take Malfoy back to the Room. Perhaps she could pretend she was going to bring it to them, knowing they would be late? She began to gasp as she took yet another staircase at a run.

_Nearly there, nearly there._

_Why did I do this? Stupid!_

_Along the corridor, behind the tapestry, then up the -_

"Oof!"

"Granger?"

"Draco - Malfoy!" she gasped, almost calling him the wrong thing. _Idiot!_

He stared back at her quizzically "What are you doing out? It's past curfew."

"What about you?" she shot back defiantly "Shouldn't Harry have taken you back to the Room by now in his cloak - or are you going without it?" she added.

_Really subtle, Hermione _she winced.

"Actually I told Harry I'd be fine so he could get back to Gryffindor in time. But what are you - "

"Erm…" she tried to dredge up one of her pre-made-up excuses, but was saved at the last second as Malfoy suddenly whipped around, hissing "Sssh!"

She fell silent, hearing it too. Distant voices were approaching.

"Dropping dung bombs outside my office, professor, I won't have it - perhaps you could put in a word to Professor Dumbledore?" Filch's wheedling voice echoed from around the corner and Hermione jumped when Draco grabbed her by the sleeve and began tugging her along the corridor. They broke into a run, trying to keep their footsteps muffled.

Just in time they turned a second corner; behind them they could hear Professor Flitwick's high-pitched voice growing louder.

"In there!" Hermione spotted a door up ahead, and they hurried along. Draco pulled it open and ducked inside. She followed him hastily into the cramped space and the door clicked shut just in time as the professors made their way around the corner.

"Like I said Argus, I'll see what I can do, but there's no need to have poor Peeves thrown out, he's been here for-"

"I don't care how long he's been here!" Filch exclaimed loudly and Hermione stifled a giggle, only to bump her nose against something soft. The background noises faded away as she realised it was Draco's nose.

_Oh my God._

Draco didn't know what to do. He and Granger were stuck in the same darn cupboard where he and Ginny had first kissed, literally bumping noses. It was the same situation as before, they were practically on top of each other, except there was even less room this time somehow. There was little room for their feet and they couldn't move without falling over; the space not occupied by their feet was filled by cardboard boxes and low trunks, and a chest of drawers which had been stored behind them.

He supposed the lack of room was also because Hermione was taller, and judging by the pressure on his chest, curvier too. As they both got over the adrenaline rush of running from Filch (_again_, though Draco wryly), he became more and more conscious of the fact that they were pressed against each other, but he couldn't move without falling over. _Right_, thought Draco quickly, panicking, _I know what's going to happen now. I admit I'm attracted to Granger for some perverse reason but she's going to realise it too if I don't start thinking very hard about Goyle in pink frilly lingerie_. He closed his eyes, unnecessary as it was in the pitch darkness of the cupboard, and started thinking hard. It was working very well until Hermione spoke.

"Draco?'

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to do now? It's a bit cramped in here." she sounded awkward, unsurprisingly.

_She said my name! _a ridiculous voice in the back of his head shouted and very quickly he became aware again of the pressure of their bodies pressed together, and before he could conjure up his revolting image of Goyle, Hermione tried to shift backwards a little, inadvertently rubbing against something Draco wished she hadn't because suddenly the temperature in the cupboard seemed to rise about ten degrees.

They both let out a little gasp, Hermione sounding scandalised, at least to Draco's ears and he suddenly realised that she was going to jump out of the cupboard as fast as she could, and his twisted logic conjured up the only situation he could create where the news of his embarrassing attraction to her wouldn't get out to the rest of the school, forgetting that his popularity was already zero.

He leant forward and kissed her.

Hermione almost jumped out of her skin when suddenly she found Malfoy's lips against hers - she was still reeling from the terror of finding - _that_ - pressed against her accidentally. Suddenly she felt her lips moving on their own and she realised that her body was making her kiss Malfoy. She was about to push him away when suddenly realised that this wasn't the same Malfoy who had called her a mudblood, not anymore. Hadn't he and Harry been friends for months now? And hadn't she been secretly daydreaming about him, and even spying on him? _There's no point pretending anymore, I only wanted to be there to watch him fly. _

Did she _want _this? Bracing herself, Hermione decided to go with her heart, if only for the fact that Draco's cologne was making her feel light-headed. _I didn't ever think he would like me, let alone . .. Oh…_

Draco got the shock of his life when, after a moment of stillness, Granger began to kiss him back. Her lips tasted like strawberry and were incredibly soft.

He pulled back a little to let his lip brush gently over hers, making her gasp so quietly he wondered if he imagined it. He let his tongue draw a line lightly across her bottom lip, tasting the strawberry lip gloss and savouring it.

Then he realised that her hands were on the back of his robes and he couldn't stop himself.

Her mouth was already half open, waiting for him and he slipped the tip of his tongue inside, brushing her tongue quickly. She imitated him, _I suppose she's never done this before, _Draco thought as he caressed her tongue in his own mouth, showing her what to do. His hand, which had been resting on her back, drifted down to her behind. He resisted the urge to grab it, he knew girls didn't like that, and even though some let you do it, he was sure Granger wouldn't. Instead he stroked his hand up and down her full back, lingering a little in that place. As he kissed her, her little tongue now darting expertly into his mouth Draco suddenly realised how long he had wanted to do this for. He found himself kissing her face and then her neck, in his head thinking over and over _Why haven't I don't this with her before?…_he came to the first button of her school shirt, and kissed around her neckline, bringing his hand up to rest on her chest without thinking. _oh …_And to his shock he heard a moan escape Hermione's lips and at the same time felt a hard nipple against his hand.

He muttered something indecipherable aloud into her neck. _Why the hell couldn't Granger have worn a bra…_He knew he was lost. He brought his lips back up to hers, trying to resist the temptation to rip her shirt off, still moaning into her mouth. However this seemed to make Hermione even more eager because she was rubbing herself up against him -

"Herm - Granger - you've got to stop, or I won't be able to - "

"Hermione" she gasped into his mouth "call me Hermione" and with she jerked him forward and before he could stop himself, he was pulling at her tie, and once that constricting piece of material was on the floor he lifted her onto the chest of drawers behind her. He then began to struggle with the buttons on her top, kissing her neck, her chest, and as he pulled at more buttons, he was soon flicking at soft pink skin with his tongue while Hermione breathed deeply into his hair, her hands on his neck and shoulders.

Hermione's mind was blissfully blank as Draco kissed her and kissed her and kissed her. They could have been doing this for hours, she didn't care. It felt so good, and in the dark it was just two people locked in a fiery embrace and the more they moved the more perilous it was for them to stop.

He pulled her body against him again, bringing her into a closer embrace, and she, wanting it all the more, clutched the back of his robes, running her hands up and down his back. It wasn't real, it was a daydream. When his hand had suddenly rested on her chest she had felt a sudden jolt of realisation that this was happening too fast, but then he was murmuring, making pleasurable noises under his breath and she was too distracted to think

She had felt a pleasurable tingle where his hand was, and couldn't stop a little noise escaping her lips. At this, Draco came back up to kiss her again, eagerly making little moaning noises into her mouth which made her weak and tingly all over in a way that she recognised and then suddenly she didn't care, she wanted to do this, whatever happened afterwards.

All that mattered was now.

She had pulled him hard against her and he'd moaned deep into her mouth. Suddenly her tie slipped to the floor and she felt herself being lifted onto something behind her.

Her head reeled. And then she could feel him kissing down her neck to his chest, sucking her through her shirt as he pulled at buttons. It was all she could do not to - to do what? She didn't know, this was all so new… she began to pull at her shirt, desperate to feel his mouth on her skin, but he realised what she was doing and began to help her with the buttons…

_What am I doing?_

She ignored the voice in the back of her head, _I don't care, don't care…_

Draco was in a blissful place at this point despite feeling painfully constrained, in more than one way. He didn't want it to end, and though he desperately wanted to do more to her, he couldn't be sure she wanted it. What if he was wrong and scared her off? He was too far gone to bear it.

He slowly brought a hand up to the line of her skirt, stroking her leg the whole way. Merlin he just loved the way that Hogwarts girls wore their socks pulled up to their knees, leaving a bit of bare leg before their skirts. He slowly traced patterns on her inner thighs, going higher and higher and she still didn't stop him. He paid attention to her body language as he slowly reached both hands under her skirt to grip her waist. She stiffened.

"Hermione…" he whispered "do you want me to…um…" his voice trailed off into silence of its own accord. It had never felt so awkward with other girls… "Will you let me?"

There was a silence for a second. "I - I don't really know what - er…" her voice faded off uncertainly

"How about you just stop me if you don't like it?" he suggested, unwilling to spell it out

"Okay." came the breathless reply.

He slowly pressed his hand against the wetness on her panties and heard her gasp, but she didn't protest. He rubbed a little and she pressed against his palm. He then very slowly began to remove her underwear, and then resumed kissing her, as if nothing had happened. After a while however he took things a little further.

Hermione felt uncomfortable and wanted to stop him almost as soon as she felt skin against skin. After their brief conversation when she gave her consent she was beginning to feel increasingly embarrassed, her arousal fading into the background, but then - "_oh_!" she gasped, and Hermione never swore, not even in her thoughts, until now… and then suddenly he ducked down and she wondered what he was doing.

For a moment she felt confused, then mortified, and then she wasn't feeling anything other than complete and utter … there wasn't a word for it. Bliss seemed close, but even that wasn't enough.

Hermione felt so overwhelmed, there was a pressure building up inside her quickly and she could barely stop herself from screaming and then she was leaning heavily against the boxes behind her, her hands in Draco's hair as he kissed his way back up her body.

"'Mione - please can I?"

Hermione jolted, for a moment she had forgotten everything … and then she realised what he wanted. She felt a twinge of fear, but truth be told after _that, _she was very curious and more than ready to try the proper thing.

"Yes" she whispered, refusing to let herself think about this too much. It was all like some kind of glorious dream that she had never imagined could come true, and she didn't want her common sense to kick in an ruin everything.

"It might hurt a little at first, but just try to relax"

The gentle way he was speaking to her made it too easy to forget who exactly was doing the talking.

" yes…"

Draco realised that Hermione was a bit scared and he hoped this wouldn't hurt her too much. There was the obligatory moment of awkward fumbling, as per the usual with this sort of encounter as far as he'd experienced with this sort of thing.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mmm-hmm." it sounded a little forced but he went ahead anyway and winced as she gasped with pain. He tried to get her comfortable with the movement and held back until she had relaxed a little.

"Are you ready?" he asked

"mm hmm" she replied, her voice a little too stiff

And now it was his turn.

They began to kiss again as they moved, and run their hands over each other. Hermione was glad to be able to slip her hands up the back of his shirt and move her hands up and down and then mover them round to his chest. His skin was soft. She moved her hands down and felt the muscles in his stomach and at the same time he began to run his hands over her body.

Time seemed meaningless. They could have been there for hours, or days, or years, but to Hermione it was a blissful blur.

Draco felt a thrill of elation when she sighed with pleasure and moved her hands up to grip his hair.

They kissed again, and Draco's breathing became loud and ragged.

"Oh…'_Mione_…" he moaned and then his body began to judder against her and he bit down on her neck a little. He slowly stopped shuddering and for a little while Hermione enjoyed the sensation of him sucking the skin on her neck gently where he had bit down, and then he stopped, and then…

And then reality began to sink in.

For a long moment they held onto each other, despite their sudden awareness of what had happened. When Hermione couldn't stand it any longer she pulled away.

Wordlessly they began to put their clothes on again, struggling in the confined space, although the fact that Hermione was still perched on the chest of drawers created a little more foot-space for Draco.

In unison the same frenzied thoughts were shouting in their minds.

It took a long time to locate their various clothing items. Hermione suddenly remembered Harry's cloak and decided against bothering to put on her tie and button all her clothes properly. She wanted to run away as fast as she could.

Then a shard of guilt pierced Hermione's heart. How could she have forgotten?

"Ginny" she said suddenly into the silence, and she felt Draco stiffen.

"I didn't want - want to hurt her." he said haltingly, sounding broken.

"That doesn't make this okay, it's no excuse!" Hermione was angrily talking to herself, and was unprepared for what happened next.

"Hey!" Draco snapped back "Don't you dare act like this was all my idea! You're not so innocent yourself you know! I though you were her friend!"

There was a cold silence. The atmosphere had changed so abruptly from awkward to hostile.

"Are you dressed?" Hermione said finally, feeling tears forming in her eyes.

"Yes."

"Then I'm opening the door and leaving." She began to do so.

"Wait!" Draco ordered, reaching out a hand to hold the door "Swear you won't tell anyone about this!"

"Don't worry, there's no chance of that - as long a you keep your mouth shut!"

"If Ginny hears about this you'll wish you were dead." Malfoy's voice was frighteningly cold. Oppressive guilt hovered not far off, but he had to hold it off until _she _was gone.

"Fix your hair - it's a state." Hermione said replied coldly as if his threat hadn't made her blood run cold. She pulled the cloak out of her pocket and threw it over herself. .

Draco ran a hand through his hair, and through his blind panic wondered why she had Harry's treasured cloak. "And fuck off, my hair is fine."

Hermione didn't go back to Gryffindor. She fled to the prefect bathroom where, under the noise of the hundred different taps running at once, she began to cry yet again today.

_I can__'__t believe I let him - _

_- let him, I practically begged him to -_

_He used me!_

_I told him I wanted it! I let him do what he wanted._

"And you enjoyed it." She said to herself and burst into tears again.

Once in the water she simply lay back and floated amongst lavender scented bubbles. She tried to think of excuses. She had none. What if someone found out?

_They won__'__t. He didn__'__t want anyone to know._

She ran her hand over her body, where Draco Malfoy had held her not so long ago.

_But what if that was so that he could spread his own version of it?_

Harry and Ron would never speak to her again.

She was a slut.

Less than twenty minutes she had been running her fingers through Draco Malfoy's hair and moaning with pleasure. It had been, without a doubt, one of the best moments of her life.

_It would be still if he wasn__'__t such a - such a BASTARD!_

She screamed the word in her head, but it didn't make her feel better. It would all be all right, if only he liked her back. They could date, and then it would seem more legitimate.

_But he still thinks I__'__m a disgusting mudblood. But -_

A sudden thought occurred to her: It had been she who had shouted at him first. He had said nothing hostile until she had. Was it possible….?

_What if he was just being defensive. What if __…__ ?_

Under the water, she felt the slippery wetness on her legs and thanked God that it was the wrong time of the month for her to get pregnant. She grabbed her wand from the tiled floor and performed a quick contraceptive charm, just in case, hoping it wasn't too late. She'd have to visit Madam Pomfrey to double-check…

_I__'__ll have to confront him tomorrow._

…ooo000ooo…

Hermione stood in the entrance hall, waiting. Malfoy had Herbology next, he'd have to walk this way to get to class. The only problem was that she'd have to separate him from his cronies in order to speak.

There he was! Hermione's heart sank as she saw him crossing the hall, flanked by Pansy and Theo, and thankfully Harry was absent. She'd just have to make do.

"Malfoy!" she called, and the blonde's head turned. Malfoy met her eye then began walking faster, even as Pansy and Theo lingered, staring at Hermione, Pansy with hostile eyes; she couldn't bring herself to look at Theo. Furious, she marched up to him, grabbing him by the shoulder, intending to force him to speak to her.

"Get your hands off me!" Malfoy snarled "What do _you _want Granger?"

"A word." Hermione snapped

"We'll I'll just have to disappoint you then, you see, _I _have classes to get to."

"I don't care. I want to speak to you now, and you'll do it."

"Oh I will, will I?" Malfoy flared up "I don't think I'll do anything you want, Bushy, now run along!"

"Don't you _dare_ speak to me that way, _Ferret_!" Hermione found herself shouting and quickly lowered her voice "You have a nerve-"

"Oh _I _have a nerve!" Draco lowered his voice "You dare approach me and lay your filthy little lint-covered fingers on my vintage cloak-"

"Lint covered!"

"Well I can't very well call you a mudblood now can I, you filthy little elf knitter!"

At this, their spectators looked rather confused, but Hermione wasn't about to be distracted by Malfoy's views on her home-made elf hats.

"Your bloody cloak is standard school issue, you-"

"School issue! Why you-"

"MALFOY! I demand to have a word in private!"

"Well, GRANGER, I'm sorry but I have more important issues to attend to! I do believe Professor Sprout is expecting her best student to turn up to class on time-"

"Best student!" Hermione exclaimed, as Harry and Ron came into the entrance hall "If you're Sprout's best student, no wonder all those bubotuber stumps withered last week!"

"Of course! I forgot you needed them for your acne!" Malfoy bellowed, making several nearby Ravenclaws giggle.

"What's going on here? Don't speak to Hermione like that you git!" Ron said loudly, marching up to Malfoy, only to be viciously elbowed aside by Hermione.

"Acne! Malfoy I thought you used Bubotuber pus in your hair products, with all the grease that's usually in it! I wondered why you hair has been such a _state_ recently - your stock has run out!" Hermione said pointedly, daringly made a reference to Malfoy's hair after they had left the cupboard, and by the widening of Draco's eyes he realised this too. However at the same time he reached up a hand to run it through his hair, so Hermione couldn't be sure.

"My hair is not _greasy_ and it most certainly is not in a state!" he said angrily Suddenly a sly look came onto his face "Or would you like to run your fingers through it and check, 'Mione?" he sneered.

Hermione vainly hoped her face wasn't red, and shouted wildly

"You know what Draco, why don't you just jump into the fucking lake!"

There was a ringing silence in the hall as Hermione turned and marched up the stairs at great speed, leaving Harry, Ron, the Slytherins and the group of formerly giggling Ravenclaws standing stunned.

"Wow." Ron muttered as the groups began to disperse "Did you hear her!"

"I wonder what that was about." said Harry, worried "Hermione _never _swears."

"Did you see Malfoy's face…" Ron grinned "I love Hermione sometimes."

Meanwhile, a shrewd Pansy Parkinson wondered when Draco had started calling Granger 'Mione.

…ooo000ooo…

"Do you know where Draco is or not?" Harry persisted, closing his eyes and willing for more patience.

"Maybe." Pansy gave him a sultry smile

"Parkinson! If I don't get the cloak to him someone could find out where he sleeps, and I don't know about you, but Hermione could do without having to go and untie him in some dark cupboard again."

"Granger?" Pansy's eyes narrowed "She found him, last time?"

"I just said so, didn't I?" Harry said frustrated "Are you going to tell me where he is?"

"Alright!" Pansy snapped, suddenly in a bad mood "No need to get testy!"

"So where is he?"

"Where who is?" said a familiar voice

"Draco!" Harry sighed with relief "I got you the cloak, I don't know where it was, I couldn't find it till this morning!"

"Really?" Draco looked at it oddly as Harry passed it ovee "Where was it?"

"Under the bed. Guess I must have dropped it yesterday."

"Hmm."

…ooo000ooo…

Draco made his way to the room of requirement, under Harry's invisibility cloak. He paused by the familiar stretch of wall before pacing back and forth, eyes closed in concentration. He opened the door that appeared, and looking behind him in case anyone was watching, he slipped into the cathedral like room behind it.

…ooo000ooo…

Draco greeted Ginny with a kiss that morning.

It was their first since they had kissed in the cupboard, their first in broad daylight, and Ginny felt a shock of pleasure as his lips brushed hers.

"Hello." Draco said rather huskily, and Ginny frowned, looking up at him but he didn't meet her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked

"I'm fine." he answered shortly "Do you still need help with your essay?"

"Well yes, but… are you sure?" she couldn't help noticing that Draco looked tired. "We could sit outside, if you prefer? The library can be a bit stuffy sometimes."

"If you like," Draco took her books and parchment from her arms and took them into his own "shall we sit by the lake again?" he shuffled so that he had an arm free and reached for her hand. Ginny could barely hold in a grin, and promptly forgot her worries.

"I never remember - is it boiled nettles, then fresh nightshade, or are they both sliced and boiled?" Ginny flicked through her potions text, a frown on her face. She found the page for the hiccoughing potion and looked up at Draco - only to find him glaring into the distance.

"Draco?" she asked uncertainly, and he snapped out of his trance.

"What is it?" he smoothed down his robes unnecessarily

"Never mind, I - Draco, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." he looked out over the lake

"You seem distracted. Are you sure you want to help me study?"

Draco looked back at her worried expression and Ginny saw something in his face change.

"No."

"What - what do you -" she stopped talking when he shuffled closer to her and leaned forward. She closed her eyes.

Ginny's lips were warm and soft, and her mouth tasted like peppermint. He had her jaw cupped in his hand, and when he opened his eyes a crack he was surprised at the riot of colour that was her long hair. He felt as if he were holding a glass rose.

"Mmmm…" Ginny's moan was muffled by Draco's collar as she pressed her face into his cloak and breathed in the smell of his cologne. His kisses moved from her throat to her collar bone and she began to fumble with her buttons on her cardigan - only to be stayed by his pale hand.

He didn't say a word, but only pressed his lips to hers, muffling her half formed questions.

For a few moments, Ginny didn't respond, her thoughts spinning through her head, then she succumbed to his insistent kisses.

…ooo000ooo…

"Seriously Pansy, this isn't funny." Harry gritted his teeth and forced his eyes away from the daringly low neckline.

"Harr-ee!" she whined, cocking her head to the side, her deep brown eyes catching him unawares. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights as she widened them endearingly "I just thought it would be nice to spend time together…"

"You've never shown an interest in quidditch before now." Harry looked intently at the library desk, where his homework lay unattended.

"I could use some tips at how to handle a broom."

Harry looked at her with disbelief, even for Pansy that seemed a little too ridiculous. She sensed it too, because herlips twitched suspiciously.

"I heard Firebolts can be particularly hard to handle." Pansy was looking far too intensely at him "Is it true they need a … firm hand."

"Parkinson," Harry forced out, his cheeks flaming "I know you miss irritating with Draco, but please, do _not _take it out on me."

Pansy looked reproachful. "If you don't like talking to me, you could have just said so." she said quietly, and with one last glance, turned and left.

Harry stared after her, aghast. How could a girl be so embarrassingly _obvious_, and then when he finally managed to get rid of her, rather than feeling relieved, make him feel like a monster?

…ooo000ooo…

Draco smiled, brushing confetti from his hair and wondered if the winged cupids were really necessary to the romantic atmosphere of Madam Puddifoots. Ginny gave her usual shy smile.

"You missed a bit." she leant over to brush one from his fringe, but Draco caught her hand and pulled her in for a kiss. When they moved apart, he pushed his hand over his hair, scooping up another small handfull of confetti that the helpful cupid had decided to embellish the moment with, and blew them towards Ginny, who giggled and blushed.

All in all, Draco was happy with his relationship. Despite the Weaslette's (and he called her that affectionately these days) house, she was nothing like the rest of them. She had a sneaky sense of humour, poking fun at everyone from Professor McGonagall to her own brother, something which he never expected from a self-righteous Gryffindor. They laughed together, but Draco was careful never to add any of his own insults, making fun of one's own friends and family was one thing, to do it with someone else's was quite another, especially as he often seem to veer close to offending her without meaning to with some of his sarcastic comments.

To his surprise, he quickly realised that Ginny didn't like Granger quite as much as it seemed. Apparently Ginny found the girl a threat, though it was a mystery why.

His stomach churned with guilt when he considered the possibilities. Was it possible that girls could sense things like … but no. It was a mistake, and there was no need to dwell on it.

Granger and Ginny were friends alright, and there didn't seem to be anything in particular which bugged Ginny about Hermione, but Draco found himself ceaselessly amused at her unconscious, derisive comments about Granger's hair, her know-it-all-ness ("Is that even a word, Weaslette?" he'd laughed), her figure ("If there's any shape under that hideous mass of self-knitted cardigan, I'm sure no boy will go near enough to find out!"), her 'elf-rights', yet oddly enough, not her brains.

If he ever felt guilty about laughing at Granger, he quickly smothered it.

"Hermione is smart - but no smarter than I or you Draco," Ginny had whispered as they witnessed a presentation/lecture by Granger on the ethics of transfiguring animals for amusement, following a comment from Lavender Brown about how cute a stuffed toy half transfigured from a puppy would be. "She simply shows off more," she continued, adding "She's insecure, mum says."

Draco certainly heard a lot of what 'mum' had to say. Certainly, Mrs Weasley sounded to be a very opinionated woman, he reflected, and he could only imagine what she had said when the male Weasel had sent the news home about Ginny's new boyfriend.

Little did he know that the reason he had heard none of it simply because Mrs Weasley was, as Ron put it, in denial. Mrs Weasley had sent Ron a short note telling him that she would write to Ginny herself, but not to worry as it was just a harmless phase. The ruckus in the Gryffindor common room which had followed, when Ginny had discovered Ron's communication, was so bad that the rest of the two Weasley's housemates had retired upstairs simply to avoid the flying furniture.

…ooo000ooo…

Draco rocked in his chair impatiently as Ginny read over her Potions notes again. The two were sitting in the library, several seats from Ron who was humming and hawing over a long roll of parchment. Draco was attempting to help Ginny study for her upcoming exams, but he was having little success. The more he explained, the less Ginny seemed to understand, and he couldn't help but think that her mind wasn't on her work.

"Draco, do me a favour and go over and help Ron with his Transfiguration homework, he's driving me mad!" Ginny sighed exasperatedly, pulling her fingers through her hair.

"Ha ha." Draco said dryly, then looked up when Ginny's head snapped up. "What?" he asked.

"I was serious. He needs a hand, and I'm sure you can help him." she had an oddly determined look on her face, despite how casual she sounded.

"I'm not helping Weasel!" Draco exclaimed indignantly, then shrunk away as Ginny flared up, something he had seen several times, but never directed at him.

"I wish you would stop calling my brother Weasel! In case you've forgotten -"

"Yes - you're a Weasley too, I know." Draco said conciliatorily, waving his hands up in a gesture of defeat.

"Well then-"

"Just because I'm dating you doesn't mean I have to like your brother." Draco said unwisely.

"Doesn't it?" Ginny raised an eyebrow coldly. Draco stared back in confusion.

"Ginny, you knew I hated your brother when you started going out with me!"

"So that's it?" Ginny's voice rose and she pushed her chair away from the table

"Er - what?"

"You're not even going to try." She glared down at him and Draco shrugged, feeling angry and wrong footed.

"No. Why should I? I like you, not your brother and we're only dating, it's not as we're getting married!"

"Fine!" Ginny snapped "I'm going to bed!" and she stormed off.

Draco stared incredulously at his parchment, then stabbed his quill into the desk, fuming.

…ooo000ooo…

"And then I said to Morag -"

Harry forced an interested smile onto his face, shifting the books in his arms until they were more comfortable.

"-well if you're not going to ask him out, are you surprised that Daph did, when you knew she liked him-"

He had discovered that Pansy responded best to a barely responsive silence. Keeping his mouth shut and his face attentive was vitally important if he was to survive Draco's split from Pansy.

"-because Daphne - you know Daph Greengrass, Harry?"

Nod.

"Of course, well she's liked him for soo long-"

He'd have to see Draco about why he wasn't spending more time with his friends, because he didn't know if he could handle Pansy much longer. The only time she stopped her outrageous flirting was when Harry prompted her into ranting about the latest gossip.

"-but Morag thought I was being _difficult _by pointing out the obvious-"

"Here's your class Pansy!" Harry interrupted, shoving a bright smile on his face and the books into Pansy's arms. "See you later!"

He hurried away as fast as was humanely possible in a crowded corridor.

"Bye Harr-ee!" he heard behind him.

…ooo000ooo…

Draco searched the Gryffindor table for the familiar flash of red hair and sighed when his eyes landed on Ronald. Evidently, Ginny was too upset to attend dinner. He tried not to think about the surge of irritation he felt at this; he wasn't sure who was in the wrong after their argument, but he was sure it was him.

He knew he shouldn't have snapped at Ginny, but the fact was that he didn't _want _to make an effort with her brother. Why should he have to? He was dating Ginny, not Ron. He cared about Ginny deeply, but enough to beg Ron for forgiveness for all his past misdeeds? No. Absolutely not. She would just have to realise that they would have to make a compromise,.

_It__'__s not even as if we__'__re serious! _Draco thought angrily, _so why does she have to at as if the future of our relationship depends on me making peace with her family? It__'__s not as if we__'__re getting married! All we do is meet up a few times a day to snog__…we've only been seeing each other for a few weeks!_

And even that sort of activity was coming to a slow halt, Draco reflected. These day Ginny seemed more interested in 'getting to know one another', and instead of meeting up to kiss and to cuddle and to laugh, Draco was faced with a hundred questions, ranging from his favourite childhood toy, to why exactly he didn't like Ron. In return, he asked Ginny about herself (he was clearly expected to) and tried to listen. The truth was, he didn't care about the past. He cared about how she made him feel right now - happy and cared about (the latter had become more important to him now that he was so estranged from his family), but that didn't happen when she just wouldn't stop talking. He didn't want to be criticised, and he didn't want to remember that there was an outside world beyond Hogwarts. He hated when she asked him to wear 'this sweater' or 'that scarf' simply because she liked it. It reminded him of Pansy. He just wished they could return to living in the moment, and just enjoy each other's company.

Draco pushed away his soup. He just wasn't hungry. He was sure there was fault on both sides, but he was certain that when Ginny did decide to grace him with her presence, he would feel like an awful person within moments. _How do women do that? _Draco decided not to ponder this question and tried to distract himself. His eyes landed on two bickering Hufflepuff first years entering the hall in front of Granger, who immediately caught up with them and separated them with stern words.

Draco rolled his eyes. _Interfering bint._

_Hermione Granger_, he thought contemplatively. Where _had_ her parents found that name? they couldn't just call her Anne, or Susan, or something equally boring and old fashioned. Like Margaret. Oh, but then he could see her as a Margaret. He eyed her bushy hair. _Yes, she definitely belongs to a time before hair potions were invented._

But then again, he speculated, her hair was nowhere near as Hagrid-like as it used to be. It was still as mane-like as ever, but at least it was more curly than frizzy. He could give her a few tips when it came to hair care, he thought rather smugly. _I bet she would kill to have hair like mine! _

Strangely enough, he quite liked the idea of helping Granger smooth Sleakeazy's Hair Potion into her curls. At first, the thought shocked him, but he was intrigued by it, so he continued to speculate.

…ooo000ooo…

Meanwhile, Ginny was doing some speculation of her own.

She just didn't understand Draco. She'd thought he was sexy, that he was mysterious. But she was beginning to wonder if there really was nothing more to him than sarcasm and vanity, covered by kisses and whispered compliments that made her knees go weak.

And so she had tried to get to know him, find out who the _real _Draco was, and prove to herself that underneath it all, he was really a decent person.

But so far he had disappointed her. And not only in that way, but he wouldn't take their relationship further in other ways either. It wasn't that she _wanted _to go further physically, she would have been really happy at the pace things were going. But the fact that he didn't want to didn't sit right with what she knew about men.

Was there someone else? Didn't he find her attractive? Was he waiting for marriage to go further than kisses?

She had tried to slip in questions, but he answered them with the usual grumpy, one word answers that she received whenever she tried to work out his feelings.

She just wanted to know what was going on inside his head, but he barely wanted to talk to her beyond trivial day-to-day comments.

It also stung that he so obviously didn't like her family. He wasn't about to change for her, Ginny knew, but he didn't even try to mask his hatred for Ron. How would they ever last if he acted like that towards her family? She just wanted a sign he was committed to her.

Was it so wrong to want answers?

…ooo000ooo…

"Good evening, Harry." Dumbledore nodded at Harry who, wrapped up in thoughts of Pansy, failed to notice an odd expression of concern in the headmaster's eyes.

"Good evening sir." Harry seated himself in the chair in front of his desk "How are you, Professor?" he asked politely, focusing on the moment, and glad that he didn't have to try so hard anymore to appear happy to see the headmaster.

He hadn't forgotten his grievances, but he was preoccupied with other thoughts, and as Dumbledore hadn't pushed the subject of Harry's destiny (or summer-time residences), his raw anger had faded somewhat.

"I'm very well thank you Harry, but I have to admit that recently, I have been worried about you."

"Me?" Harry frowned as Dumbledore observed him with his penetrating gaze.

"I'm afraid that recently I've been so busy that I have had little time, and little attention to spare, for the day to day goings on in school. I'm sure you have noticed I have been absent from Hogwarts frequently, often for days at a time?"

"Yes sir." Harry said mystified, then quickly added "Where _have _you been going sir?"

"Impertinent" the portrait of Phineas Nigellus said snidely, but Dumbledore ignored him.

"I will tell you in good time Harry, but not just yet. At the moment I am more concerned with you. I hear you have made some changes in your circle of friends."

_He means Draco and Pansy _Harry thought, wondering how any of this was Dumbledore's business.

"Yeah," he replied cautiously "I've made some new friends."

He waited for Dumbledore to expand on the subject. The headmasters eyes travelled curiously over Harry's face as he spoke.

"I believe Mr Malfoy defected from Lord Voldemort recently for reasons unknown. I had heard, previously, that you were no longer treating young Draco as an enemy."

Dumbledore paused enquiringly, but continued when Harry did not reply.

"I am rather curious as to the reasons for Draco's change of heart, and how his new relationship with you came about."

Dumbledore paused again.

"We've grown up, gotten over our differences." Harry shrugged.

"And the reasons for his apparent defection?"

"That's Draco's business." Harry said shortly, looking away.

"Ah." Dumbledore said quietly, and there was a note of worry in his voice. "Harry, I'm almost certain I know the answer to my next question, but I feel I must confirm it. Is this 'friendship' genuine? Forgive me, but past experience with you tells me that this could all be an elaborate hoax to trick Mr Malfoy in some way."

"Yes, its real." Harry said bluntly "I don't play with people's emotions."

He almost cringed as he heard his own words. He hadn't wanted to open the hostilities, but it had just popped out of his mouth before he could stop it. In front of him, Dumbledore suddenly looked tired and old.

"Harry … before we go any further, I think you should say what it is that is on your mind. I've noticed for some months now that you have not been yourself, and I see no benefit in continuing to act as if nothing were wrong. I know there have been issues between us, but I don't want to be pushed out of your life. I have apologised, Harry, what more can I do? Please don't let your hot temper rule you. "

For a moment, old anger bubbled up, but Harry hurriedly pushed it away, only saying "There's nothing wrong professor. I just don't understand why you're so interested in my social life."

From the sigh Dumbledore gave, Harry realised immediately that he hadn't fooled him, but the headmaster merely replied;

"Perhaps Draco really is sincere. I hope he is, but I suspect not. Harry, I only mean to protect -"

"I can take care of myself." Harry snapped "And that includes choosing my own friends!"

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment, and then addressed Harry again.

"A long time ago, I too became … close to a young man with a dark reputation." he looked up at Harry, who glared back.

"Before I met him, I was in a difficult position. I had suddenly acquired new and frightening responsibilities which I did not want. I felt trapped and angry, Harry. I wanted better. I felt that I deserved, that I had earned, better. My new friend was a diversion from the problems of my everyday life, and he understood me, in my anger and frustration, in a way that none of my friends or family could." Harry wanted to roll his eyes. He didn't for a moment believe any of this wasn't heavily doctored to suit whatever point the headmaster was trying to make.

"He had a different perspective on life … new ideas of which I never dreamed, but seemed ingenious, and the more we talked, the more they inflamed me! And if these ideas, these dreams which soon became mine also, if they were drifting into a morally grey area, then I overlooked it, for I trusted my friend and I could not bear the idea that he might leave, and my life would go back to the futile and frustrating grind which it had seemed before. We were young men with great potential, and we had ideas which would change the world, and we would do it together. Then, some weeks later, there was an incident. My friend caused something unforgivable and irreversible and he fled back to his home and I didn't see him for some years."

"What did he do?" Harry asked despite himself.

"It does not matter what he did precisely." Dumbledore said "It is enough that I allowed myself to be taken in by him while I was in a vulnerable place…"

Harry felt his anger boiling over. So Dumbledore though him vulnerable? And whose fault was that? He, Harry, was not a baby who could not be trusted even to judge his own friends.

"…however, what happened was that when I finally realised what he really was, the resulting duel ended when a young girl was killed by a misfired spell."

Dumbledore paused.

"I finished him, five years later." the headmaster said suddenly, before Harry could begin to speak "My friend," he added at Harry's confused look.

"You-?"

"We were in our early twenties at the time I defeated him. He has lived the rest of his life in prison."

"I don't understand." Harry said blankly. Was Dumbledore trying to tell him that Draco was heading in the same direction?

"My friend was Gellert Grindlewald."

"He was your _friend_?" Harry said incredulously

"Yes Harry." Dumbledore replied "So maybe you can see my concern? I don't want you to make the same mistake."

"Draco isn't talking me into doing Dark Magic."

"Perhaps not. But it's important that you remain on your guard. Emotions like friendship, love … even lust, can cloud our vision too easily, and often we do not realise it."

"I'll be careful then." Harry said shortly, feeling increasingly uncomfortable at what Dumbledore was insinuating. He no longer wanted too discuss this.

"I do not entirely disapprove of your friendship in any case," Dumbledore continued "It may be that Mr Malfoy has indeed seen the light, in which case we must do everything we can to show him the right way. Indeed, he could be a huge asset to the Order."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Harry said sharply; alarm bells were going off in his head.

"You don't want your friend to assist the Order?"

"I don't want him forced to do anything against his will. He's a person, not a pawn."

"Ah." Dumbledore replied "And you see yourself as a pawn?"

"That's not what I said!" Harry snapped "If Draco decides he wants to help the Order, that's up to him. I don't want to talk about this anymore." he snapped

The rest of the meeting went in a blur. Harry listened as Dumbledore described Riddle's school years, and tried not to fly into a rage when Dumbledore talked about him attracting a group of 'friends' who had a kind of 'dark glamour', giving Harry a pointed look as he spoke. He watched Morfin Gaunt's memory of sixteen-year-old Tom visiting him and then departed for the common room, questions spinning in his mind.

…ooo000ooo…

As Harry swept through the common room and up the stairs to the dormitory with an ugly scowl on his face, Ron huffed frustrated and settled back down in front of the fire.

It had been weeks, _weeks_ since he'd asked Hermione to the ball, and he was yet to catch Harry in a suitable moment to tell him about it.

It had been perfect, he was proud of himself, of how much planning, and courage, went into it. Hermione was being a little distant with him, so he didn't feel comfortable going over the details of it with her, but he'd have thought he could at least speak to Harry.

It wasn't his fault though, with that skank Parkinson dogging his footsteps. Ginny deciding to date Malfoy was affecting everyone around her, and not in good ways. Harry, Malfoy…even Hermione seemed upset about something. He wondered if he should offer to talk about it with her.

Girls liked that, didn't they? He was a bit more confident now that he'd already managed to ask her out. He could imagine it now; he could approach her and softly say 'Herm, you looked stressed - ' _not, not stressed, that means she looks tired and moody to girls, how about_ 'you've not been yourself, is everything alright?' he would pause for a tired denial 'Are you sure? You can talk to me anytime you like, if something's on your mind.'

He thought he would try it later. Hopefully Harry would come down soon so he could tell him all the thought he'd put into asking Hermione to the ball. So far he'd toldDean and Seamus, and they didn't seem that interested, though Seamus congratulated him on thinking of setting candles around the common room and paying the first years to clear out for fifteen minutes (enough time to ask her and have a snog, if he was lucky - which he was)! Dean only seemed interested on where he learn the spell for conjuring roses, to which Ron had indignantly replied that he had picked them from Professor Sprout's personal garden.

He just wished, most of all, that Hermione would smile at him sometime, and tell him that she had noticed, and loved, all the work he'd put into it.


	14. Chapter 13

_I'm not making money from writing this fic, and I don't own Draco Malfoy (sob) or any of the rest of these lovely character._

For Ron, the night of the Spring Ball couldn't come fast enough. He had his robes paid for and delivered a week before hand, and had actually spent half an hour getting ready - something unheard of for him. He wore cologne that his mum had sent him, along with the lovingly wrapped robes - a new pair that Bill hadn't worn yet - and a pair of new shoes which had been sent as a gift from Fred and George with a note attached 'go get 'em tiger!'.

He finally met Hermione in the entrance hall, and breathed a sigh of relief when she took his proffered arm.

From there however, everything went down hill.

Draco gazed down at Ginny as they revolved slowly on the spot. Her warm brown eyes were alive with mischief, and he found himself looking forward to going for a walk later on. Their earlier argument was all but forgotten, although he mainly put that down to the low cut, backless ball gown she was flouncing around in. He wondered what the infamous Mrs Weasley would think of her little daughter wearing her friend's revealing clothes. Draco wasn't stupid, he'd heard some of her blushing conversation with Romilda earlier. She looked as if she was enjoying herself though, especially when he ran his hands down her bare back. He kissed her quickly several times, making her giggle.

"Everyone's staring at us!" Ginny giggled

"That's what you get for wearing such a sexy dress." Draco touched his forehead to hers "You look gorgeous."

They kissed again

"It's because you keep kissing me like that!" Ginny exclaimed

"Okay, I'll stop then." Draco pulled back

"No no!" Ginny pulled him close again, her lips curved suggestively as she said "I kind of like it, actually."

"Shall we give them something to stare at-" but Draco was distracted before he could finish his sentence. Some one had shouted something at the other side of the room, and as he searched for a disturbance in that direction, it wasn't long before he made out the rapidly approaching figure of Ron Weasley.

"I don't think you're brother's enjoying the show." Draco said calmly, releasing Ginny.

"I'm going to kill him!" Ginny whispered furiously to herself as she stormed off to meet him.

"Get your hands off my sister!" Ron shouted at Draco, attempting to ignore Ginny, something which fast became impossible as she plunged a stiletto into his foot

"Aargh! What are you-"

"Shut _up _Ron! Go back to Hermione, you're making a scene!"

"I won't have my little sister being _groped_ in public!"

"Fine, Weasley," Draco sneered "We'll go somewhere more private!"

"Draco! Don't provoke him!"

Draco's eyes flew to Ginny. She was shooting him a furious glance that screamed '_Don't you dare!'_

"I'm not provoking anybody." he said coolly, resenting her ordering him around.

"Yeah! Shut the hell up, _Draco_!" Ron snarled

"Ron! Don't speak to-"

"Where's you date, _Weasel_? Has she ditched you already? Or have you ditched her to interfere with our fun? Pity you can't get any yourself-"

"_Draco!_" Ginny looked furious "Just shut up! You're making this worse!"

"Fine!" Draco snapped. "I'll leave you to it!" He pushed past Ron, heading for the entrance hall. It was bad enough Ginny telling him off in private without her doing in in public too. Did she really expect him to let Ron get away with talking to him like that? He headed into the grounds, without looking back, hoping Ginny would come after him.

She didn't.

Hermione let herself cry. Big, wet tears streamed down her face as sobs shook her shoulders. She pulled herself into a ball, arms around her knees, and cried. _Why did I say yes to Ron?_

At first, everything had been fine. This year, Ron had a fine set of black dress robes and with his muscular shoulders and (for once) tidy hair, she had been proud to be going to the ball with him. They had walked down to the hall arm in arm, beaming and greeting everyone, but not before Ron had presented her with a violet the exact shade of her dress. She had blushed as he'd helped her put it in her hair, and they'd shyly held hands as they'd entered the hall.

When they arrived, a few couples were already on the dance floor, and Ron had graciously asked her to dance (although he admittedly looked nervous and then slightly reluctant when she agreed).

The dance had been awkward. Hermione had pictured them slow dancing together in a dim although romantic candle-lit scene. However as the ball had just begun, the lights were bright and the music loud and lively. Ron had immediately stepped on her toe and she kept stumbling as they moved around the dance floor. When they finally both agree to give it up as a bad job, she couldn't help but watch Draco spin Luna around on the dance floor and pull her into his arms in a single fluid movement, her long blonde hair sweeping out into a fan, falling onto both their shoulders as she was pulled close again.

"Are they together?" Ron had asked uncertainly

"No." Hermione answered, watching Luna's delighted face as Draco yet again lifted her into the air, smiling indulgently as she laughed

"They look pretty happy to me." Ron said

"He's just being kind." Hermione said, finding herself smiling, happy for Luna "Luna doesn't have a boyfriend, remember she and Harry are going as friends. Oh look, Harry's asking her to dance now."

Sure enough, there was Harry holding out an arm to Luna as several grumpy looking girls looked on jealously, including, Hermione noted with a frown, Pansy. Although that might have been down to Draco, who was now dancing with Ginny behind them.

"I wouldn't." Ron stated, and Hermione frowned, having forgotten what they were talking about, lost in ruminations over how perfect a couple Draco made with whoever was in his arms. He and Luna had looked lovely, identical hair sparkling in the light, and now with Ginny they both looked stunning, her hair seemed to be an even deeper red than normal, and there was a cheerful smirk on his face as they danced, and an equally mischievous glint in Ginny's eyes.

"You wouldn't…?"

"Dance with Luna." Ron said

"Why ever not?!" Hermione turned to face him "Luna's our friend, wouldn't you want to make her happy?"

"I'm happy for her now," Ron grinned "But seriously I can't get away with dancing with her - Malfoy and Harry are worshipped by women whatever they do these days, I'd be a laughing stock!"

"Oh." Hermione said coldly "Of course."

Ron turned in alarm, hearing her tone "I'm not being shallow!" he said hurriedly "I would dance with her - if I was any good - if I actually got on with her at all!"

"What do you mean, you don't get on with Luna?"

"Well it's not that, it's…" he hesitated "I hate the way she stares at people - at me - it's freaky. And you know how she gets - you can't have a conversation with her without her bringing up Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!"

"Hmph!" although Hermione partly agreed, she couldn't help but to contrast Ron's attitude to Harry's - or Draco's, for that matter. Neither of _them _felt entirely comfortable with her passion for oddness, but there they were, dancing with her in front of the whole school, making her happy just because they could.

If only Ron was as gentlemanly. She remembered her dance with Victor at the last Yule Ball…she'd felt like a princess, a star, knowing that everyone was looking on, jealous of her. Would things ever be like that with Ron? _Don't think about Draco _she ordered herself.

"Would you like some champagne?" Ron said awkwardly, and when Hermione turned he gave her a warm but nervous smile.

_I'm being too hard on Ron, _she thought suddenly _I can't compare him to an international Quidditch star, or Harry… or Draco, who's probably had dancing lessons since he learned to walk._

"Thank you." she smiled at him as sweetly as she could, and he seemed to relax again. He poured her a glass, and for a while they chatted happily about the couples on the dance floor, particularly the teachers, and Ron noticed the absence of Snape.

"I bet he'd slither all over the dance floor, the slime ball!" Ron laughed "I can't see him as much of a dancer!"

Hermione giggled and pointed out Madam Pince dancing with a shifty looking Filch, however when she turned to see why Ron wasn't answering, she followed his angry gaze to where Draco danced with Ginny.

"Doesn't deserve her." Ron muttered "Look at him, his hands are all over her!" he made to get up, but Hermione pulled him back

"Ron!" she pleaded "Don't make a scene, they're just dancing! It's not Draco's fault Ginny's dress is backless - he has to touch her!"

Grumbling, Ron sat back down again. There was silence as he continued to watch them dance, keeping a sharp watch on where Draco placed his hands. Hermione tried to engage him in conversation, but he kept his eyes on the dancing couple the entire time.

"Ron!" she said finally "You're supposed to be here with me! Can you at least pay proper attention to me if you won't dance!"

Ron finally looked at her in confusion "But we did dance, Hermione. I thought we agreed we were going to stop?"

Hermione huffed, not able to think of a reply that didn't insult Ron, however he seemed to pick up the gist of her thoughts anyway.

"I suppose you hoped I was as good as Prince Ferret over there," he snapped, looking sulky

"No!" Hermione said defensively "You're supposed to be MY partner, but now you can't stop acting like a berk about Ginny and Draco!"

"I'm a berk! He can't keep his hands - OY!" he suddenly shouted, standing up, making everyone in the vicinity jump. Hermione hid her face - this time Draco really did have his hand somewhere inappropriate for a public dance - he and Ginny were talking to each other, forehead to forehead as they spun slowly on the spot, and Draco had both hands on her behind - not that Ginny seemed to mind, judging by her cheeky grin.

"_RON_!" Hermione hissed desperately, leaping to her feet as well "They're just enjoying the ball, leave them alone-!" but Ron was already pushing his way onto the dance floor, leaving Hermione standing conspicuously alone, all eyes on her…

And so here she was. Hermione lifted her head from her arms, barely able to see her surroundings through her tears. She had no intention of returning to the ball, not after Ron had embarrassed her, left her just so that he could interfere in other people's happiness. Maybe she should return to Gryffindor rather than sit out by the lake in the cold, where she could still here the music and laughter.

There was a sudden noise behind her, and Hermione leapt to her feet, moving closer to the trees.

"_Sorry…" _it was Malfoy's voice, although further off than expected. She looked around the tree she was behind and saw the silhouette of two boys a short distance away. She recognised Theo's hair and suddenly ached to talk to him about her problems. There was no one like Theo when it came to making Hermione feel better, and she regretted her avoidance of him recently. She should have tried to mend their friendship before now. She moved closer, hoping to catch his attention as soon as Draco left - praying that Draco would leave first, and soon.

Hermione drew closer, keeping behind the trees and on the short grass, wanting to stay hidden until Draco, the last person she wanted to talk to right now, was out of the way.

"…no point in hoping?" Theo sounded sad "You've been a different person recently…I hoped you might be looking for a more serious relationship than in the past."

Hermione's ears pricked up. Was Draco's relationship with Ginny on the rocks?

"Sorry." Draco sounded rueful "I just don't feel that way-"

"I've liked you for so long."

_What? _Hermione peered around the trees, confused. An unexpected scene unfolded before her eyes:

Theo was standing with shoulders hunched, looking crushed. Opposite him, Draco was reaching out a hand to grasp his friend's arm.

Several things fell into place in Hermione's mind as she struggled to hold in a gasp: Draco was gently stroking Theo's arm with his thumb.

Theo had fancied a blonde. Hermione had immediately leapt to conclusions, but it wasn't Luna she had been turned down for - it was Draco!

In the gap in the trees, Draco was staring at Theo's bowed head, an odd look on his face. Theo looked back up, his devastated expression changing as their eyes met. There was a moment where nothing happened except Hermione's already racing pulse seemed to increase its speed tenfold, and then suddenly Theo and Draco were kissing.

Hermione had never expected to witness something like this, and she felt frozen in place, mesmerised.

The two figures stood close, Draco's lips were moving furiously against Theo's, his fingers gently holding onto Theo's neck, his thumb resting on Theo's jaw. Theo was kissing him back desperately, his hand laying on Draco's chest, fingers slipped through the buttons on his robes. Draco's kisses started to slow, and Hermione knew that he was trying to stop. Theo must have realised this too, because he opened his mouth and Draco responded as if unable to stop himself. Theo backed Draco up a little until he was leaning against the nearest tree, leaning down and placing his hands against the bark on either side of Draco's head to prop himself up. The kiss was coming to an end, yet it was Theo who pulled away, looking down sadly at Draco who had slipped a little further down the tree, their faces centimetres apart.

"Sorry." Draco said, sounding as if he meant it with all his heart. Hermione's breath caught in her throat; Draco's upturned face in the moonlight, hair gleaming silver was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Once again Theo seemed to be sharing her thoughts, because he squeezed his eyes shut before pulling away.

"I'm sorry too." he muttered, and turning, he walked away. Slowly at first, then faster as the distance grew, Theo disappeared into the night.

Gobsmacked, Hermione stared at Draco who remained slumped against the tree. After a moment though, he too pulled himself together, and followed Theo back towards the ball.

Meanwhile, Harry found his hands rather full - literally. After Draco had stormed off into the night, he had continued to dance with Luna, who smiled vaguely up at him the entire time, something which made Harry intensely uncomfortable, particularly after two uninterrupted dances.

Luckily - or not - after the second dance, Luna suddenly decided to take a break. However before Harry could make for the seating area, Romilda Vane had stepped into Luna's place.

"Hey Harry." she purred, reaching a bare arm around his neck, forcing his face closer to hers. Her other hand grasped his hand. Harry froze, eyes darting wildly around for help, but none appeared.

"Shall we?" Romilda said, nodding towards the other dancers.

"Er-" Harry said, but he was being dragged forcibly towards the dance floor again, her fingers all but digging into his neck.

Unfortunately for Harry, this one was a slow dance, and despite the dimmed lights he'd never felt more visible. Romilda was clutching him tightly, her chest pressed closely against his own…in fact her whole body seemed moulded to his. He could feel his face reddening as they moved in slow circles and he silently begged for an escape.

As they revolved slowly, Harry saw Pansy standing at the other side of the dance floor, her floor length dress, a shade of green appropriately Slytherin, wrapped around her body and flared at the knees cutting a shapely figure. It appeared she had been approached by a weedy Hufflepuff boy. As she started to shake her head, she looked up in Harry's direction, and Harry, cursing his luck, quickly shot her a pleading look.

Pansy looked highly amused as her eyes landed on Romilda's leech-like figure, and Harry's face suddenly flushed a brighter red than ever in horror - Romila's hand was on his backside. As Pansy spotted the source of his discomfort she buckled over in laughter, dragging the now confused and alarmed Hufflepuff boy onto the dance floor, still having not given the poor boy a verbal answer.

Harry continued to allow Romilda to steer him around in stiff circles, eyes fixed firmly on the ceiling. After what seemed like an eternity, he heard Pansy's voice

"Romilda!" and as the pressure on his chest eased he dared to look down. Romilda was still firmly attached to him, but now she was looking at Pansy who held her own unfortunate partner in place with an iron grip.

"Stephen here - "

"My name's Simon-" the boy said, but Pansy merely dug her nails into his shoulder and he clamped his mouth shut

"_Simon_ then, has been dying to dance with you!"

Romilda stared back, unimpressed "I'm dancing with Harry just now." she said, although the distance between her body and Harry's had increased to inches.

"Oh but don't worry about that," Pansy assured her, physically inserting poor Simon between Romilda and Harry, who obligingly wrenched himself out of her grip and moved backwards hurriedly.

"I'll take care of Harry just fine." she assured the other girl, who looked furious as Harry found himself being tugged out of harm's way.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" he muttered fervently as Pansy laughed as they began to dance.

"No problem." Pansy giggled "But now you owe me!"

_Uh oh. _Draco's warnings about Pansy suddenly floated to the front of his mind

"Er - what do I owe you, exactly?" he said cautiously

Pansy looked hurt, her eyes a little wider as she looked up at him "You don't need to sound like that!" she said "Am I really that awful?"

"No!" Harry exclaimed, mentally kicking himself "No! I didn't mean - I just-"

"I was just going to ask for another dance, after this one." Pansy said miserably "I saw you dancing with Luna - it was very kind. I know she doesn't have a date, and now Theo has disappeared and I though you might - "

"Of course I'll dance with you!" Harry found himself blurting out, feeling like a monster for causing the look of devastation on her face, yet at the same time cursing himself for being such a fool. He knew Pansy was manipulating him.

"Thank you Harry." Pansy said sincerely as the song drew to a close, and Harry felt his heart sinking. _Draco was right_, he reflected, _she knows how to get what she wants_.

As the music started up again into a cheerful waltz, Harry breathed a sigh of relief. _At least it's not another slow one!_ He thought, cheered. He couldn't have taken it if Pansy had tried to snuggle with him on the dance floor - although that seemed a little passive for what Romilda had been attempting. _I'll just dance like I did with Luna, _he told himself _we're friends, there's nothing wrong with dancing with a friend. _

Unlike Luna however, Pansy thankfully did not stare at Harry while they danced. Also, she had a knack - the same talent that Draco seemed to have - for making them both look good as they danced. She smiled at the other dancers as they sailed past, and she was feather light, barely touching him. He wondered at how she managed to dance like this, as if she was floating, and still move in time with him - yet it felt more like it was he who was following her expert moves. Her chocolate coloured hair fell, slightly wavy, past her shoulders and her brown eyes sparkled in the light.

Led into a false sense of security by the safe distance Pansy kept between them, Harry began to relax and just enjoy the dance. His eyes kept being pulled back to Pansy - she was, after all, very pretty. Her snub nose was cute rather than bulldog-like, these days. He found himself smirking as he remembered the way he had used to think of her. She really had grown into her looks, a late bloomer. Up close he could see the pale freckles on her face under her makeup, and he was just contemplating why girls wore so much of the blasted stuff when he realised that she was watching him looking at her. Immediately he looked away, feeling the blood rising in his face yet again. _Shit._

"No need to blush like that!" Pansy laughed "I'm not going to make a grab for your bum, I've got more class than Romilda Vane, don't worry. Spin me round!" she ordered, and Harry did so, feeling less embarrassed.

"You! Class? Don't make me laugh!" Draco had appeared out of nowhere and was looking from Pansy to Harry with a wry look on his face. Harry tugged Pansy to a halt as Draco's smug face now clearly said 'I told you so.'

"I have class!" Pansy said indignantly, floating to an elegant halt, which Harry couldn't stop his eyes from following.

As the two Slytherins bickered good-naturedly, Harry felt something inside of him jolt. He listened to their witty exchanges with a sinking heart, though he didn't know why. It bothered him deeply, for some reason, that Pansy and Draco had been a couple. He imagined Draco staring down at Pansy in the way he had with Ginny, he imagined all the things they must have done together. Harry's pitiful excuse for experience that was his brief relationship with Cho was nothing compared to the years that Pansy and Draco had spent together.

"I'm going to get some butterbeer." Harry announced shortly, and headed for the refreshments.

"Hmmm…" Draco raised an eyebrow as he watched Harry leave. He looked back at his ex "I think you may actually be getting somewhere!"

"Hmph!" Pansy shook her head, looking irritated "Maybe."

"No really," Draco assured her "he didn't like me jumping in much, did he?" he jerked his head in the direction Harry had left

A slow smile appeared on Pansy's face "I know," then she suddenly sighed, looking dreamy "He's a sweetheart, he really is. You should have seen him blush when Romilda groped him. Adorable."

"I'm sure." Draco sniggered, and Pansy whacked him on the shoulder with her hand

"I remember the days when you were an innocent!"

"Do you really? Because I don't!"

"Oh yes…back in the days when it was just me and you. Or should I say me, and you and Theo." Pansy laughed. Draco remained silent, looking thoughtful.

"Actually…Theo and I -"

"No!" Pansy cut him off, gasping, her face lighting up "What about Ginny? Or are you two going behind her back-"

"Pans shut up, I hadn't finished - I just turned him down."

Pansy looked back quizzically "Did you?"

"I thought you'd have realised I've sort of ... gotten over that."

"By the lack of boyfriends? I had noticed. But still, Theo is a sweetheart…"

"And so is Harry, or at least, according to you. If you're so interested in Theo-"

"Oh shut it Draco. I meant as a friend. Harry really is sweet though, I wonder…" she looked at Draco speculatively "…have you thought about that?"

Draco rolled his eyes "Are you still harping on about that? I wouldn't tell 'dear, sweet Harry', he's such a prude. I doubt he'd ever look at me the same if you suggested that to him. He was bad enough when those rumours started."

Pansy giggled "I just think you'd make a cute couple."

"You should make up your mind, because I thought you were after him."

"Yeah," Pansy said "I am. So hands off!"

"Trust me, you don't need to worry."

"Have you seen Harry anywhere?"

Ginny looked up, surprised to see Pansy standing in front of the table she shared with Luna and Neville

"Er no…"

Pansy looked frustrated "I thought he said he was going to get a drink, and now I can't find him anywhere!"

"He went after Hermione," Neville piped up from the corner seat "She ran into the grounds after Ron went to yell at Malfoy and Ginny." he shook his head sadly "She looked upset."

"No wonder." Ginny said miserably

"Well now's probably not the time to talk to him then." Pansy plonked herself down on a chair.

The four of them sat in silence, Luna humming along to the music. Pansy didn't speak again until Neville asked Luna to dance.

"Don't worry about Draco." she said quietly now that they were alone at the table.

"What do you mean?" Ginny said, suddenly defensive as she remembered that Pansy was her boyfriend's ex

"Nothing. But don't be shocked if he doesn't talk to you again tonight. He's a bit of a bitch that way." she smiled in a companionable way, and Ginny smiled weakly back

"I noticed." she replied "We're fine most of the time," she added hurriedly "but when he goes into a strop…"

"…he can stay that way for a while." Pansy finished and both girls laughed.

"Honestly, he's worse than me!" Ginny said, then groaned.

"What?"

"It was my fault though. I shouldn't have yelled at him in front of everyone. But Ron was making me so angry!"

"I think someone needs a drink." Pansy said wisely

"I've been sitting here for at least an hour waiting for Draco to look as if he's not going to bite my head off if I approach him. I've had enough butterbeer."

"Actually…I was thinking more down the lines of Firewhisky." Pansy said with a sly smile

"Yeah!" Ginny snorted "And where would I get any of that? I doubt Dumbledore's going to let them serve it to students!"

Pansy seemed to deliberate for a while

"You're not telling me that you have some hidden away somewhere?" Ginny joked

"Well…" Pansy shrugged with a grin "As it happens…I do!"

…ooo000ooo…

"It's just as gloomy as I thought it would be." Ginny said, looking around the deserted Slytherin common room in disdain

"Oh come on!" Pansy snorted, tugging her in the direction of the stairs by her hand "It's just the stone floors and dark colours, it's not so bad!"

Ginny found it strange that the windows in the Slytherin dorms literally looked into the lake.

"We're underwater!" she gasped, pressing her nose to the window "This is amazing!"

"I know." Pansy said smugly "Here." she pressed a bottle of Firewhisky into Ginny's hands

"Where did you get that?!" Ginny asked, shocked "If this was found, you could get expelled!"

"I was hardly going to bring you all the way here for nothing," Pansy smirked as Ginny spluttered and coughed on her first mouthful "here, let me have some." She took an elegant sip before passing back the bottle.

Ginny settled on the end of Pansy's bed as the Slytherin began to flick through a magazine.

"This stuff really is strong!" she gasped, after swallowing another mouthful

"Mmm." Pansy continued reading her copy of Witch Weekly, accepting another sip of Firewhisky. "It does make you feel better though, doesn't it?"

"Did Draco drive you to drink too?" Ginny giggled

"No not really," Pansy smiled "We usually try to smuggle drinks into school for parties."

"Hmph. We never manage to get hold of Firewhisky for Gryffindor parties." Ginny took another drink, he words slurring slightly.

"Except for Ron's party." Pansy corrected "That was pretty wild."

"Yup." Ginny said "But that wasn't for Gryffn'dors only."

"True." Pansy threw her magazine aside and stretched luxuriously "God, I'm tired already and its only nine!"

"I think I've 'ad too much to drink." Ginny said suddenly, looking worried.

"You're not feeling ill are you?" Pansy sat up hurriedly "You haven't eaten much, have you? Don't you know you shouldn't drink much on an empty stomach?"

"Nope!" Ginny grinned "I feel fabulous! But what if we get caught? I'm not suppos'd to be in Slytherin"

"We won't." Pansy said, a sly smile on her face "The ball finishes at midnight, and trust me, the others won't be back early."

"Good." Ginny relaxed and took another drink.

"I think I might take this dress off." Pansy said, getting to her feet "It's frightfully uncomfortable."

"'kay." Ginny replied indifferently, leaning heavily on one of the posts at the bottom of Pansy's four poster bed.

Pansy turned her back to Ginny

"Unzip me?"

Ginny reached out a hand and tried to carefully pull down the zip on Pansy's dress. It caught a few times, and when it reached the bottom Ginny found herself blushing. She could see the top of a thong. She looked the other way as Pansy slid her dress off.

"What?" Pansy said. Ginny didn't reply.

"You're not embarrassed, are you?" She sounded amused "Don't worry, I'm putting something else on."

When Ginny next looked around Pansy was wearing a short silky house-coat.

"You don't need to be embarrassed." Pansy said, moving to sit beside Ginny "You're not the first girl to see me in a thong you know."

"Huh?" Ginny couldn't think clearly because of the Firewhisky "I mean Bullstrode doesn't count, though I keep forgetting there's other Slytherin sixth year girls. She's half man anyway, practically."

"I don't mean it like that, seeing me by accident." Pansy laughed "I meant on purpose."

"On purpose?" Ginny struggled to make sense of this.

"I think you're like me." Pansy said as if she was explaining, but Ginny still felt confused.

"I think…" Pansy was leaning over now, close enough that her face became unfocussed "…that you'd like it too."

"I really really don't understand what you're on about." Ginny said

"Ginny," Pansy said "I think that you like girls."

Ginny was silent, but her face reddened

"Well?" Pansy prompted "Am I right?"

"So?" Ginny said finally "So what if I do? You're going to tell Draco, aren't you? I knew you were jealous, all this time-" the red head began to struggle to her feet, but Pansy shook her head

"No. I don't care about Draco."

Ginny looked confused again "Then what do you want?"

Pansy smiled

"I like you Ginny."

Ginny looked away, her face bright red

"Ginny," Pansy prodded "You like girls, I could always tell by the way you looked at me. I know you like me too. Don't you want to know what it's like?"

"What what's like?" Ginny turned. Pansy's face was out of focus again. The next thing she knew, she felt a light pressure on her lips.

Pansy kissed Ginny gently, savouring the moment. There was so much she wanted to show her, but first she had to make sure that Ginny wanted it, that she wasn't going to run away. She pulled back and surveyed the other girl. She was tipsy, but that was all.

"What do you say we have a girl's night in?" Pansy suggested, moving onto Ginny's lap. Ginny look scared

"I don't know-"

"I know you've probably never kissed a girl before." Pansy leaned forward and kissed her again, and this time Ginny kissed her back a little. Encouraged, she slipped her tongue into Ginny's mouth and felt herself shiver in anticipation when Ginny responded in like. "But" , she gasped "we can take this as slow as you like." she slipped off Ginny's lap and let the housecoat fall to the floor.

"Have you seen Pansy anywhere?" Draco said, approaching the table where Neville, Luna and Seamus Finnigan sat watching the dancers. "Or Ginny?"

"No. I think they left." Neville nodded towards the entrance hall.

"They left?" Draco said, nonplussed

"Ginny was upset that you wouldn't talk to her nicely." Luna said solemnly, staring at him and Draco felt uncomfortable. What was it about Luna? So pretty, but too … weird.

"What's wrong?" Theo swooped down from the dance floor with a Ravenclaw girl and sat beside Luna.

"He's looking for Ginny and Pansy." Neville said.

"They were heading back to the common room, last I saw." Theo said, "They're probably bitching about how inadequate you are as a boyfriend." Despite his words, his smile was friendly. Draco glared at him anyway. Theo didn't hold onto grudges, but he didn't keep secrets well either, and the last thing he needed was Ginny finding out about what had happened earlier.

"_Our _common room?" he asked, and Theo shrugged

"Looked like it."

The common room was deserted and Draco wondered if the girls had changed their minds and gone to Gryffindor instead, or headed back to the ball. He wanted to apologise to Ginny before she worked herself up into a state and started a major argument with him before he could console her. He had also wanted to dance with Pansy before the end of the night, but he didn't care about that so much anymore.

He decided to check in Pansy's dormitory, just in case, although he didn't really see any reason why they'd be there. He jogged up the stairs and pushed the door open, intending to quickly pop his head in.

He froze and felt his heart contract at the scene that met his eyes.

Pansy, more naked than he cared to ever remember having seen her, except for one inadequate piece of lace that might pass for underwear was writhing on the bedcovers beneath his girlfriend. Ginny, who had strived so hard to impress, who he'd promised himself that he'd never hurt, was betraying him before his eyes. Ginny, who had winked and told him she was wearing red lace, Ginny, whose innocence he had decided not to waste, was naked, poised on top of his ex, caressing her breasts and fiercely kissing her.

They didn't notice him, standing there. He couldn't tear his eyes away, as if he got some perverse enjoyment from feeling his heart flutter in pieces to the floor, in red scraps like Ginny's lingerie.

Pansy pushed Ginny off her and climbed on top, ducking down, and Draco couldn't take it, couldn't take it when Ginny started moaning and calling _Pansy__'__s_ name. It was a scene that some other boy might enjoy and if it had been someone other than Ginny that was calling out, climaxing on Pansy's bed, perhaps he might have enjoyed it, but it was torture for Draco and he wanted it to stop, if only he could pull himself together enough to do something.

_SLAM_.

The moment he thought it, he had done it, flung the door as wide open as he could with all his strength, and the glass door knob smashed into pieces when it hit the wall.

Pansy leapt off the bed, and Ginny's head whipped up, her eyes landing on Draco.

"No!" she whispered "Draco-

"Get out!" He said, but his voice was shaking. He could see his reflection in Pansy's mirror; he was as white as a ghost.

"Drac-"

"OUT!" he roared, stepping out of the doorway and pointing at it with a shaking finger. He ignored the tears pouring down his cheeks. Pansy still stood almost naked by the bed, looking frightened, tears forming in her eyes. Ginny was also crying, and she shook with sobs as she gathered up her dress and flung on Pansy's silk housecoat and fled the room.

He was left with Pansy, who stared at him, tears coursing down her cheeks too.

"You bitch." he said, his voice breaking.

Pansy looked horrified at his tears and collapsed on her bed, pulling up her quilt around her to cover herself. She seemed to be shaking.

Draco couldn't bring himself to say anything further, he just stood, sobbing, staring at her wordlessly.

"Draco?" When he didn't acknowledge her, she continued "Draco, I'm so … I didn't…"

"You're not, and you did." He said, wiping away his tears and turning to go.

"I didn't realise you felt this way about her." She said softly, and he heard her start to sniffle "I swear I wouldn't have done it if I had. I never wanted to see you like this because of anyone, especially not me…I realised she wasn't really attracted to you in that way, and I thought you wouldn't want her anyway, once you found out..."

"I hate you." He said softly, before walking out the door.

…ooo000ooo…

The morning after the Yule Ball, Harry wasn't too shocked to see that Draco wasn't in attendance at breakfast. The hall was unusually empty, most student had left in the early hours of the morning to spend the rest of the easter holidays with their families. Assuming that was having a lie-in, possibly, (knowing Draco) nursing a hangover, Harry decided to retire back to the common room and spend the rest of the day relaxing.

He and Ron spent most of the morning lounging in front of the fire in the two comfiest armchairs, and when Hermione finally showed her face for the first time since breakfast it was eleven o'clock.

"Where've you been?" Ron asked lazily, but Hermione ignored him and pulled an armchair next to Harry. He immediately noticed that her eyes were red and puffy, but she shook her head, glaring in Ron's direction when Harry opened his mouth to ask if she was alright. She then summoned her knitting from a nearby table and the three sat in near silence until lunch.

Occasionally, Ron tried to break the nervous silence by commenting on articles in the Daily Prophet to Harry, who, continuously aware of Hermione's bleak mood (undoubtedly due to Ron), vainly tried to sound jovial and light hearted in the hope that she would lighten up and join in.

It wasn't until it was time for lunch that Hermione told Ron to go on ahead and let them talk and she did so in an icy, unpleasant voice. Ron immediately fled the room, grimacing at Harry.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, half relieved to be able to ask, and half dreading her answer..

"Something's wrong with Ginny!" Hermione whispered, wringing her hands "Have you heard anything about it? She's been crying in her room all morning and she won't come out or tell me what's wrong. I think its something to do with Draco."

"Oh." Harry said, surprised. He immediately understood why she wouldn't want Ron to hear this titbit, but he was at a loss as to why she was so upset and worried about it.

"Well, they did have a huge argument last night," he reasoned "but why are you so - ?"

"But why won't she tell me?" Hermione murmured, half to herself, sounding anxious and ringing her hands "What if she - what if it's something that I've done?" she stumbled over her words as she looked up to see Harry staring at her bewilderedly.

"Well," he said slowly "Have you done anyth-"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed defensively "Why would I do anything to upset her?!"

"Okay, okay!" he said quickly "But did she at least look angry at you?"

"Well…no." Hermione admitted "But she was crying so hard I … I can't be sure."

"Look Hermione, you can't just assume it's because of you." Harry said diplomatically, wondering why she was acting so oddly "So you'll just have to assume it's something else. No point in worrying about nothing."

"Yes." she nodded, but if anything she looked more tearful.

"Hermione…?" he started, but she shook her head furiously and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry Harry," she said thickly "I'm just feeling …. Terrible. Ron was a nightmare last night, I don't know why I said I'd go to the ball with him."

"I'm sorry." he said awkwardly

"I'll be okay." Hermione gave him a watery smile "I should have learnt after the last Ball that Ron isn't a good date. I think I'll miss out on lunch, Harry."

"Okay then…" he watched her in confusion as she disappeared up the stairs to her dormitory.

…ooo000ooo…

The next day at breakfast, Harry noticed with concern that Draco wasn't at breakfast yet again, and neither was Pansy. Had she been at the Slytherin table yesterday? He racked his brains but just couldn't remember.

"Maybe you should drop by the Room later, Harry and check on him." Hermione suggested nervously as she read the direction of his thoughts. She too was looking at the empty spaces at the Slytherin table.

"Great idea!" Harry said relievedly, deciding to ask Draco if he knew what had got into Hermione, ignoring the scowl on Ron's face.

"Maybe you could find out about…" her gaze rested on Ginny's empty seat.

"I'll try." Harry agreed shortly, reaching for his pumpkin juice and determinedly not meeting Ron's questioning expression.

Harry ended up leaving breakfast early when a sudden thought occurred to him: there were still hostile Slytherins at school over the holidays - what if Draco had been ambushed again? Yet when he arrived at the seventh floor and paced back and forth three times, the door appeared as usual - Draco was inside.

He knocked and waited, but when silence greeted him he hastily let himself in, and then breathed a sigh of relief. There, amidst the bundled, emerald green bed sheets lay Draco. He could see the back of his blond head.

"Draco?" he enquired, moving around so that he could see if the other boy was awake "Are you alright?"

"Fabulous." came the dull reply. "Now fuck off out of my room." Harry ignored this, and tried not to sigh when his friend rolled over to glare at him. Draco's eyes were red and puffy like Hermione's, and he supposed that it was too much to hope that he was merely ill.

"Is it Ginny?" he asked into the silence, and then jumped back as Draco sat up ram-rod straight.

"That bitch!" he snarled, his face twisting into a cruel expression "She's gone and gloated to everyone, hasn't she?"

"No!" Harry said hurriedly "No! It's just that she hasn't been leaving her room either."

Draco's expression relaxed and he stared expressionlessly into space.

"What happened?" Harry asked tentatively.

"I swore that I wouldn't hurt her Harry." Draco said quietly "And I told myself that I wouldn't let her tempt me, that she'd stay as she was; sweet and innocent, whatever she pretended."

"Right." Harry said with a shadow of foreboding.

"Sweet Ginny Weasley." Draco sneered, turning his face away "Filthy slut."

Harry froze. _She__'__s hurt him, _he realised. He smothered his initial urge to reprimand Draco for calling Ginny such things.

"What…what happened?"

"I went to find her, to apologise for shouting at her." Draco went on "And she was fucking my ex."

"_What?_" whatever Harry had been expecting, this was not it. "Nott?" he asked, confused after thinking furiously for several seconds.

"No, _Pansy._" Draco corrected, sneering even more awfully as he looked around and saw Harry's shock and disbelief.

"Yes, that's what I thought, when I saw it." he said as Harry began shaking his head.

"No! Ginny wouldn't - and she's not…not-"

"Gay? A slut? A cheater? But even you, saintly, innocent Potter, even you would have realised the implications if you walked in on Pansy with her face in your girlfriend's crotch."

Harry felt nothing but shocked. _This can__'__t be true _he couldn't stop thinking it, despite Draco's tortured expression as he turned away.

"I can't believe it." Harry said finally "I never, ever thought…Pansy!" he said suddenly, as something occurred to him. "I though she fancied me! So how can -"

"Don't be dense Harry!" Draco snapped, head in his hands. "I dated Theo didn't I, and he's a bloke, but I still c-cared about Ginny."

Harry shifted uncomfortably when he heard Draco's voice trip.

"She swings both ways Harry." then Draco's voice turned cruel again "Don't worry, she'll still be ready to bang your oh so holy innocence away, when you succumb to her."

"Stop it!" Harry exclaimed furiously "Will you stop bringing that up! It's not my fault I don't date everyone I can for the hell of it. And I already told you I'm not interested in Pansy!"

"Was Ginny?" Draco questioned, seemingly talking to himself "Pansy got her drunk, but she still had to have wanted it."

There was a minute of silence where Harry searched for the right thing to say.

"I take it you're not friends with Pansy anymore then?" Harry found himself blurting out, then wondered why he cared so much.

"I don't know. I think I am…" Draco buried his face in his hands and Harry frowned

"You _are? _But this is all her fault, isn't it? It's probably more hers than Ginny's anyway."

"Thing is," he replied quietly "She was sorry."

Harry could only stare at him in disbelief

"Sorrier than I've ever seen her. She didn't realise how I felt about Ginny…and I could kill _her!_" he suddenly snapped, jumping to his feet, his cheeks flushed, expression fiery "I could kill her! How could she string me along, all this time, knowing she'd rather be with a _girl._"

"Maybe she only just realised she was … gay?" Harry suggested, but Draco was already shaking his head.

"She _knew,_ even if she didn't want to admit it to herself. She must have - you don't go from not knowing to full on sex. She strung me along!"

"I can't understand why you aren't angrier at Pansy." Harry said finally after several more minutes of silence where Draco paced back and forth angrily.

"Pansy was sorry, I could tell. She never cries. Ginny turns on the tears like she's a tap. She was more embarrassed than anything, I'm almost positive. Maybe she thought she was sorry, but she was fooling herself." Draco ranted, then finally slumped back onto his bed. "I didn't know Ginny as well as I thought, but I know her well enough to know she wasn't sorry."

"Listen," Harry tried, moving forwards to place a hand on Draco's shoulder "You can't stay holed up in here forever. You need to eat sometime."

"I don't think I'll ever be able to eat again." Draco said dully "Or show my face in public, once Weasel hears about this."

"For some reason," Harry said dryly "I don't think Ron'll be exactly pleased to hear about this either."

"Are you joking?" Draco looked up, shaking his head in despair "Maybe Weasel won't like the idea of any blokes getting in Ginny's pants, no matter who they are, but when he hears that she _cheated _on me, with a _girl, _with my _ex-fiancé _of all people…."

"No one will find out." Harry said firmly "At least, not if Ginny is as embarrassed as you say she is about it - she wouldn't even tell Hermione what was wrong. Actually," Harry remembered "Hermione's been acting strangely."

Draco looked down "Strangely? In what way?"

If Harry didn't know Draco so well now, he wouldn't have noticed it, but it was there. His voice was too matter-of-fact, almost guilty. But he'd heard that tone of voice before, and it had come to nothing. _Unless it__'__s just that I still haven__'__t found out__…_

"Just…really worried about Ginny." Harry tried to push away his doubts "Too worried about her, if you know what I mean? They're not close like they used to be - if they ever were, and she thought Ginny was upset because of her, even though she hadn't even done anything or had any proof that she was angry with her."

Draco merely shrugged.

"Who knows? Women… I've had it with them." Then for the first time a familiar glint appeared in his eye and Draco smirked "Say Harry?"

"What?" he replied cautiously.

Draco winked "Fancy going on a date? It would _kill _Pansy -" he burst into laughter at Harry's appalled expression " - and it'd be the perfect revenge for Ginny!"

"I think I'll pass." Harry said faintly, taking this as his cue to leave. "You'd better be down for lunch though, and look cheerful, or Hermione might have a nervous breakdown."

An odd expression passed over Draco's face, but Harry, having had enough of his company (and sense of humour) for the moment, decided not to ask, and left Draco to his thoughts.

…ooo000ooo…

There was only a few days left until term started again, but as so few students had decided to stay at Hogwarts over Easter (just like during Christmas, parents didn't want to be away from their children more than they had to be), it was rather obvious that Draco, Pansy and Ginny were avoiding each other, not least because Draco sat alone at the far end of the Slytherin table at breakfast while Pansy sat with Theo at the other. Ginny sat quietly at meals, not speaking to anyone.

Although Ginny held her silence, Ron clued into her and Draco's break-up (although not the reasons for it) after only a few minutes of watching their behaviour at breakfast and was unashamedly jubilant.

"I knew it wouldn't last!" he exclaimed, clapping an uncomfortable Harry on the back "He was never anywhere near good enough for Ginny! I wonder what finally made her see sense?"

Ron had the sense to keep his thoughts to himself around Ginny, but he smirked and jeered at Draco at every opportunity, and Harry could see how much it cost Draco to hold his silence by the way he kept abruptly leaving rooms whenever Ron entered.

"Will you give it a rest!" he said finally, after witnessing Draco storm out of a courtyard where he and Harry had been discussing quidditch tactics out in the cold. The choice of venue had been an attempt by Draco to avoid his two ex girlfriends; Ginny was always with the Gryffindor crowd and Pansy with the Slytherins, so Draco had begun to stay in his room for most of the day except for when Harry separated himself from the Gryffindors to spend time with him. They had just been in the middle of deciding when to next meet up for another flying session when Ron had come looking for Harry and gave his now usual condescending snigger when he saw Draco.

"You can't blame me!" Ron said indignantly "Would you want _your _sister with that rat?"

"That _rat_," Harry said moodily "is my friend, and he has a lot on his mind right now, so will you just lay off?"

Indeed, Draco did have a lot on his mind, yet the more he tried not to think about the breakdown in his relationship, the more other unwelcome thoughts bothered him.

First of all, he felt oddly bereft without Pansy to rely on, but he wasn't ready to let her off the hook. His immediate instinct was to get some sort of revenge on Ginny, and if only it wasn't Pansy who she'd betrayed him with, he might have got Pansy to play along and deliberately snog him in full view of Ginny, just so that he could have the pleasure of seeing her cry. If she even cared. And that was the problem; Ginny had betrayed _him_, she was clearly the one who didn't care about him anymore, and so any act he might put on with another girl would be ineffectual anyway. It would probably just make him look as if he was on the rebound.

Was he on the rebound? It certainly seemed to Draco that he was unconsciously looking for someone to be with just for the sake of being with someone. He even caught himself looking at Granger once or twice. They were just small incidents, like when he watched her eating her porridge from across the hall one morning and wondered if she also ate hers with syrup. Or when he caught himself staring at her legs as she walked past in her grey skirt with the socks pulled up. He immediately shook off these thoughts, putting them down to his desperate emotional state.

For that was the other unwelcome thought. He didn't want to be alone.

He still had Theo (or would have, once he returned at the beginning of term), but he was no substitute for the lifelong friendship of Pansy, or the closeness of being with Ginny. Harry was the only one who cheered him up, but he still hadn't gotten around to telling him about his lies, and if he did, that would probably mean that he would lose his only other best friend. So, faced with the choice between spending time with Harry but being wracked with guilt, or losing him altogether, Draco chose to hover in the uncomfortable middle ground and just avoid being with him too much.

Fortunately for Draco, Harry didn't notice his avoidance as he had found himself, yet again, on the radar of Pansy Parkinson.

It had begun the day after Harry found out about what Ginny and Pansy had done. Pansy had confronted him after breakfast in the entrance hall, tugging him away from Hermione and Ron.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to sound as if he was in a hurry

"Harry, I just need to know how you feel about me now." Pansy said anxiously "I can see Draco's told you everything."

"Er. Well I'm just keeping out of everything. I don't want to take sides." he said awkwardly

"I feel awful about what happened Harry." she said, searching his face for a reaction.

Harry looked at her hard. Unlike both Draco and Ginny, she had no dark shadows under her eyes, and she didn't look as if she had been crying. But then, he reasoned, you had to factor in the amount of makeup and beauty charms she probably used.

"I just don't want you to think I'm cheap, Harry." Pansy went on when he didn't answer. "Draco's probably told you what a whore I am, that I'll sleep with anyone." she looked up at him questioningly and he shuffled uncomfortably. While Draco hadn't said this recently, it had certainly been said in the past.

"It's not true Harry, I swear it."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me." Harry said, trying to wriggle out of the awkward conversation.

"I feel like I should say _something_. I don't want you to believe everything that you hear about me."

"Erm…"

"I've put my trust in the wrong people sometimes, Harry, and when I was younger I was stupid enough to boast about some things which should have stayed private." Pansy stared out at the grounds and shook her head as she continued in a soft voice

"I've talked myself into the reputation I have, and because I thought it was too late to backtrack, I tried to be proud of it, even live up to it in a way. I thought I was doing the right thing," she hesitated and looked him in the eye "…but now I realise that times change, and, well having my reputation doesn't do me favours in some cases."

"Pansy, you really don't need to ex-"

"I know Harry, I'm sorry. I'm sure you don't care one way or another, but we're supposed to be friends and I'd rather you heard my side at some point, or it'll look like I'm not denying what people say."

"Look, you've heard some of the rumours about _me_," Harry joked "so you must know that by now I realise that not everything that people say is true."

Pansy looked relieved "What I did with Ginny _was _a conscious decision, I meant it. I just didn't factor in the consequences. I never meant to hurt Draco." she explained, her face anxious again, as if hoping for his approval

"I thought he'd be glad that I'd found out what Ginny was before she embarrassed him, and if everything had gone to plan, Ginny would know now that there's nothing wrong with just being herself, and she'd have the confidence not to hide her sexuality."

"Would - would you have stayed with her?" Harry's curiosity overcame his discomfort for a moment.

"For a little while." Pansy said slowly "I don't really see myself settling down for anything long term with a girl. Why?"

"What if Ginny wanted that though?" Harry asked roughly, hoping she wouldn't want to continue the conversation much longer "What if you'd gotten her hopes up and then broken her heart?"

Pansy looked stricken "Harry…"

"Did you even think about that?" he demanded

"I'm sorry Harry, I don't know what to say." she admitted miserably "I just wanted to show her what she could have, if she just stopped pretending to be someone else."

"So let me get this straight," Harry said angrily "You got her drunk, tricked her into doing things she wasn't ready for, and then left her to deal with the consequences alone, just so you could have the satisfaction of - of what? Taking her innocence?"

Pansy's eyes were now full of tears.

"I never thought - I just wanted to-"

"It's not up to you to decide what experiences someone should have. You can't mess people around like that."

Despite his tone, Harry felt heavy and depressed now. Pansy was looking up at him in tears, looking genuinely devastated and his lecture had caused it. He'd thought that she'd known all this, that she was just being a bitch, but for the first time it occurred to him that perhaps Pansy had had no idea that Ginny might feel abused or taken advantage of.

"Listen," he said heavily "Just - just lets forget about this. I don't want to cause problems."

"You're right though," Pansy sniffled, turning away "I'm that awful a person, all of those things never even occurred to me. I just assumed -"

"Pansy, it'll alright. Just … learn from it. Maybe apologise."

"What's going on?" came a new voice and the two jumped as Ron joined them, clutching a piece of toast. "Did I miss something?"


	15. Chapter 14

_I don't own Harry Potter and I don't make money from this fic. _

"Harry!" Pansy's voice echoed along the corridor, and Harry paused before the fat lady's portrait. "Harry?"

There was a clatter of running feet, and Pansy rounded the corner, looking out of breath.

"What is it? Is some thing wrong?" he asked, looking around her for a clue as to why she was running.

"I was worried I wouldn't catch you in time." she nodded towards the fat lady's portrait, and leaned heavily against the wall, her ringlets bobbing as she caught her breath. "Draco's still ignoring me, and he's down in the common room with Theo. I just couldn't sit with them, not when he's not talking to me, and I didn't want to be alone. I headed back to the hall, but you were already gone, but I hope I could make it up here before you arrived."

"Oh." Harry said, looking for a way out of this one. "Well, I was just going to go and finish my homework in the common room… I said I'd study with Hermione. So unless you want to sit in a common room full of Gryffindors…" he shrugged apologetically as he tailed off.

"Actually," Pansy said brightly "I was hoping you'd say that! I need some company, I really do, and I could give you a hand with homework too if you like."

"Wait," Harry said nervously "You _want _to come in?"

"Well, most of the Gryffindors who would usually complain about me being there are on holiday, right? So it won't be so bad." she smiled expectantly up at him, and Harry tried not to notice how her lip-gloss made her lips so appealingly pink.

He hesitated, not seeing a way out of this one without being rude. He couldn't see anyone else being happy with a Slytherin in the Gryffindor common room; he didn't even know if it was against the rules.

"Are we actually allowed to go into each other's common rooms?" he asked her

"Well as a rule, no one does it, but I've never heard it said that we're not allowed to." Pansy shrugged "And I can always leave if I'm made not welcome."

"Well… Alright then," Harry reluctantly turned to the fat lady and stopped. Should he let Pansy hear the password? It didn't seem right, but what if she took offence? He turned to Pansy, but then grinned; she had her hands over her ears, and at his glance began to giggle.

"I'm not listening, I promise!" she exclaimed, and proceeded to hum a Weird Sisters song loudly.

"Spring chicken." Harry told the fat lady, and the portrait hole swung open accordingly.

Pansy immediately stopped her humming and stared through the hole curiously, and scrambled through when Harry motioned for her to go first.

Luckily only Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville were in the common room, but they hadn't appeared to have noticed them yet as Ginny and Hermione were engaged in a game of exploding snap, being egged on enthusiastically by the boys. Normally Harry would just join the group, but he felt as if he should announce Pansy's presence.

"Hi!" he said, trying to sound nonchalant at he made his way over to them.

"Hey Harry." Neville said, looking up, then did a double take.

"_Pansy?_" Hermione exclaimed, and Ginny and Ron whipped around in their seats.

"Er - Harry -" Neville began, looking nervously at Pansy

"She's not allowed in here." Ron said flatly.

There was an awkward silence, and Ginny looked down at the floor, her face crimson.

Harry felt indignant, despite not being keen on Pansy joining them. So she wasn't supposed to be in the common room, what were they going to do, turn her in? And why were they looking so accusingly at him? He turned to Pansy, expecting her to start telling everyone off for their hostility, but was surprised to see her staring fixedly at the carpet, her cheeks pink.

He found a protective instinct taking over him. Why were his friends being so rude? They were nice enough to Pansy the rest of the time.

"I told her that she could come in," Harry said "But if she's not welcome -" he reached out to take Pansy's arm as she made as if to leave "them I suppose we'll just sit over there." He nodded towards a table in a corner and began to make his way over to it. Pansy imitated him, looking relieved.

"Harry!" Hermione said suddenly "Of course Pansy can join us, I don't mind!"

Harry stopped and caught Pansy's eye, but she gave him a pleading look before turning back to reply to Hermione.

"Thanks." she said "I'd love to join you, but is it alright if I do some studying first? I did say I'd help Harry…"

"Oh, yes of course!" Hermione said, smiling warmly. Harry was sure that she felt guilty for not speaking up for Pansy sooner.

He turned and continued over to the table, and Pansy sank gratefully into a chair with her back to the Gryffindors.

"Sorry Harry." she grimaced apologetically "I just felt so embarrassed - Hermione was very kind, but the others…"

"It's all right, I don't blame you for not wanting to sit with them." Harry said, and meant it.

"Harry, I also wanted to apologise - for earlier." she cast her eyes down, looking ashamed

"Don't worry about it," Harry said quickly "I shouldn't have accused you of those things-"

"But you were right!" she looked up despairingly "I never once thought past helping Draco and having some fun for myself that night. I used Ginny, I just assumed she wouldn't care if it was a short term fling."

"It's not really my business anyway." Harry said, embarrassed

"I don't like you thinking badly of me." Pansy said quietly

"I don't." he said "Pansy, just be yourself. You don't need to try to please people."

She gave him a grim smile "Sometimes it feels like I can't stop it though. I just want people to like me, and what people like is outgoing and up for it. Whatever 'it' happens to be at that point in time. But with you…"

"I just want you to be yourself." he said firmly

She watched him for a moment, then smiled suddenly.

"Maybe you do. I might try it."

They looked at each other for a moment, and Harry felt his cheeks starting to redden, until she smiled again"So what homework were you needing help with anyway?" she asked, gesturing towards his book bag.

"Er-" Harry thought furiously, wishing he hadn't lied now "Well I still have to practice my Transfiguration."

"Oh good!" Pansy said enthusiastically "I can help you there, I've been transfiguring my eyelashes black since forever!"

"You have?" Harry said blankly "I thought they were already that colour?"

"Well, they're dark brown really of course," Pansy laughed "But I prefer to transfigure them rather than wear mascara. I've been doing it since third year."

"Oh." Harry felt a little foolish "Well I've only managed it once so far - we were supposed to be dying our eyebrows yellow, and I could only get one to work."

"Is it true that Ron grew a moustache?" Pansy asked, lowering her voice, a cheeky grin on her face.

"Yeah, it is." Harry grinned, glad to point out he wasn't the only one inadequate at Transfiguration "It was a proper handlebar moustache as well!"

"I remember in fourth year, after Professor Moody transfigured Draco into a ferret, he was obsessed with trying to transfigure his nose so that it was less pointy." ***

"Are you serious?" Harry laughed

"Yes, it really got to him, you starting that nickname 'ferret features'."

At this, Harry burst into laughter, but hushed himself quickly when Ron, Neville, Ginny and Hermione lapsed into silence and stared over at them.

"Best not let Ron hear that!" he said, quirking his lips. Pansy's face softened as she watched him.

Henceforth, it seemed that whenever Harry was in the same vicinity as Pansy, she made a beeline for him, and after a while, he stopped telling himself to be cautious, because she maintained a friendly distance, and he began to forget that she had once had a different kind of interest in him.

Even if she had once felt differently, what did it matter now? They could still be friends after all.

…ooo000ooo…

There was now only one day before term started and unusually, Draco had been counting down the days. He was sure that life would return to normal when Hogwarts was full of students again, that he wouldn't feel so _alone. _He had ended up extending the hand of friendship to Pansy much sooner than he had intended, as now that she was spending her time with Harry all of a sudden, she seemed to have forgot all about Draco. Unfortunately, although she had seemed glad he had forgiven her, she still was preoccupied with Harry.

It was a cold yet bright day, and Harry and Draco had planned to go flying, but Pansy had tagged along, and Draco sourly watched her giggle and wobble around on Harry's Firebolt as Harry tried to explain to her how to hold the broomstick correctly.

_She has him wrapped around her little finger._

Harry hadn't seemed to have minded Pansy following them down, in fact he hadn't even commented on it. He had seemed uneasy when she had asked him to show her how to fly, but he had soon crumbled under her wide-eyed, trembly-lip routine and now he looked as if he'd never been happier.

Draco snorted, watching Harry pulling Pansy along as she began, for the first time, to fly in a straight line, her toes brushing the grass. _Pansy has always been useless on a broom._

Now that he thought about it, perhaps his own relationship with her might have worked if they'd had quidditch as a common interest…

_Oh Merlin please don__'__t tell me I__'__m now desperate enough to consider Pansy again._

He rolled his eyes at his own foolishness. He had to be careful; these days it seemed as if even idle thoughts were leading him into trouble. More and more, Granger had been occupying his thoughts, and he didn't know why, but he wished she'd act like a normal girl and not wear that little skirt when it was so cold. Even Pansy wore trousers most of the time for Merlin's sake! And that tight little polo neck that she'd worn to breakfast yesterday?

Draco didn't know what had got into him. He was even letting thoughts of _that night _into his head now, and it ashamed him that he still got turned on by the thought of it. What was wrong with him?

He tried to distract himself by watching Harry and Pansy again, but it sickened him. Mostly because he was becoming more and more certain that Pansy really, really liked Harry. He could see what she was trying to do, act all innocent, like the kind of girl Harry probably liked. Or was it an act? He wasn't really sure. Maybe she was just having fun, enjoying learning to ride a broom properly. She'd rarely acted like that with Draco, but that was mainly because he had spurned every one of her advances. At least Harry seemed attracted to her.

_Sadly, _Draco thought, as Pansy began to speed along the grass faster, and turned to blow a kiss at Harry, who blushed.

It was clear that Pansy required attention at all times in any case. Poor Harry didn't know what he was getting himself into. If Pansy wasn't feeling loved, she began to act like a tart, in her desperation. Harry couldn't keep sitting on the fence, or he'd have trouble on his hands, that was for sure.

Suddenly Draco was caught sight of a bobbing flash of brown at the far side of the pitch and his heart rose and then sank as he realised that it was Hermione Granger. She was making right for Harry and Pansy, who greeted her enthusiastically, Pansy speeding over on Harry's broom and nearly crashing into her.

Draco merely watched them, as he couldn't hear what they were talking about from his seat at the bottom of the stands.

"…and Ron's the only one in the common room, I don't know _where _Ginny's disappeared to, so I thought I'd just come down and see what you were all up to."

However Hermione didn't listen to Harry's reply as she had caught sight of Malfoy yet again staring at her. This time, he sat at the foot of the Ravenclaw stands some distance away, staring unashamedly, and she began to panic.

_What does he want?_

She didn't know why she kept noticing Draco staring at her. Was he going to tell Harry about the cupboard incident? Maybe she should try to confront him about it again. For a moment while the others began to get ready to make their way back up to the school she floundered. Then when Draco looked back at her to see why she wasn't following she made her decision and beckoned him over.

He looked puzzled but complied.

"Hermione?" she looked up to see Harry looking between her and Draco concernedly, but she shook her head.

"You two walk ahead, I'll catch up. I need to ask Draco something about Astronomy."

Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, but Hermione found herself flushing under Pansy's shrewd gaze.

"Hermione?"

She felt a shiver run down her back at her name being said by _that _voice, but she made herself look him in the eye.

"Malfoy."

He looked down at her and quirked an eyebrow.

"I thought we were back on first name terms."

"We're not."

She found it hard not to stare. She'd never had him all to herself, to look at like this. The wind teased his hair, a strand tickling the tip of his ear which peeked out from the rest of the ruffled blond. His grey eyes were dancing with amusement.

"Surely I haven't struck you speechless with my enchanting beauty?"

Hermione bristled. There was no way he could know how near to the truth he was.

"You vain, egotistical-"

"Yada yada, et cetera." he shot back smoothly "I've heard it all before Granger, was there something you wanted to say?"

"Stay away from me." she said firmly, looking him in the eye.

"What?" he said, his face blank with surprise

"Stop watching me. Whatever you're planning, stop it." she didn't move her gaze. "If you tell anyone -" she took a breath "- about - _you know what -_" she gritted her teeth, feeling her cheeks burst into flame. Why could she not at least have rehearsed this speech first? "- you'll be sorry."

For a moment Draco stared at her, then a vicious sneer formed. "You think I was going to tell?" he spat "Worried about darling Ronald finding out you're not the precious little virgin he thought you were?"

"If you tell -" she said steadily "-I swear -"

"You'll what? Cry on me? You can't even say the word for what we did!"

"Don't -" she began, but he drew up close to her, hissing in her face.

"I fucked you good and proper, and you certainly weren't begging me not to. So don't come after me with your righteous posturing! You think I don't know what you're busy convincing yourself? That you were scared, that you didn't know what you were doing? And whoops, your precious virginity was gone before you click your fingers?" Hermione opened her mouth to argue back, but no words came out.

"Well keep telling yourself it was all my fault, Granger. Just you forget that I asked you, and you couldn't get enough. But before you go running to Potter and Ronniekins crying that you got taken advantage of by _me_, why don't you try explaining to them what you were doing following me around under a stolen invisibility cloak!"

For a few seconds Draco glared down at her, his eyes narrowed in hatred, but Hermione couldn't begin to formulate a reply. Draco lifted his chin and cast her one last disdainful glance before turning his back on her and striding back up to the school, his long black cloak fluttering after him in the wind.

…ooo000ooo…

When they got up to the great hall, it appeared that some of the students had returned for the new term. Pansy gave a small shriek of excitement, waving to the blond Slytherin Daphne which Harry had been hearing about so much.

"Aren't they supposed to be back tonight?" Harry asked, momentarily confused

"Silly Harry," Pansy rolled her eyes "not everyone gets the train. Daphne and Morag were side-along apparated to Hogsmeade I expect. Come here."

Harry made to back off in alarm, but too late she had him in her pincer-like grip and he found himself in a warm hug.

"Thanks for being a good friend." she said, pausing to smile at him.

He smiled awkwardly back, then started as she pulled him in for another hug, brushing her lips on his cheek.

"Bye." she said, letting go.

"Bye." he muttered, blushing when Pansy's friends started giggling and blowing him kisses.

He headed back up to the common room in a remarkably good mood. _At least I'll have some peace now_, he thought merrily. He had to admit though, it would be quiet without her. He'd actually gotten fond of her. _She'll be back before long though_, he told himself grimly. Then he broke into a foolish smile for no discernable reason.

…ooo000ooo…

Once again, Draco slipped into the Room of Requirement. He had a free period and it was dangerous to do this during the day, but he had Harry's invisibility cloak. He also had a small white bird in his fist. It opened and closed its tiny beak repeatedly, but Draco's silencing charm took care of that. He clumsily moved a pile of books into a strategic position behind the door, then placed a china tea-set on top. Any intruder would knock it over, and Draco would be alerted to their presence and could whip on the invisibility cloak.

He walked away, the small bird still struggling and silently twittering in his fist. He'd stolen it from Hagrid. He didn't like risking himself by stealing, nor did he relish risking the animals life, but after much testing he had finally decided that transfigured animals just did not hold their form once in the cabinet.

The cabinet.

He paused in front of the hulking piece of furniture, only half covered by a dusty sheet. He pulled it off, coughing as dust particles filled the air.

Reaching for the bronze handle, he looked down at the bird.

"I think we both hope this works." he muttered wryly, then he pointed his wand at it and removed the silencing charm. Immediately it began twittering madly. Opening the door, he threw the bird inside, slamming it shut before it could fly out of the frightening, dark space. The twittering could still be heard faintly, although at times it faded away altogether as he listened.

The bird must be moving between places.

He held his wand to the door, closing his eyes to focus.

"_Harmonium Nectare Passus_." ***

He paused as the wild twittering cut off. Closing his eyes, praying, he repeated the spell.

"_Harmonium Nectare Passus_."

Still no twittering. He opened the door and closed his eyes in despair. The bird was on the wooden bottom of the cupboard, and it wasn't moving.

He'd tried every spell that Borgin had suggested, and from there he'd tinkered with the spells, changing them, making his own versions. It was inconceivable that the cabinet was beyond repair, it was the only plan which he could imagine working. This spell was the only one which had made a difference, and it was the last one on Borgin's list! His alterations to it should have made some difference surely…

_It has to be this spell, it has to. It's the only one that really makes sense. I just need to understand what the problem is better._

He'd started practising with ornaments. He'd shut the cabinet door and then no sequence of opening and shutting would bring them back. He'd tried every spell, and then this one, when used with the right focus, had fixed the problem. The china pieces had come back every time.

He'd thought the cabinet was fixed, thought he could visit Borgin's shop that very moment. Luckily he'd thought better of it and placed an apple he had stolen from the kitchens in the cabinet.

He had instructed Borgin to check for its appearance at a certain time, and signal to him its arrival.

Borgin never received the apple, but after some trial and error with this spell, the apple arrived back with a bite out of it.

Now this had been the last test. Could a living thing survive travelling through the cabinet? Transfigured animals simply disappeared. If he tried a real animal though, he'd thought it would work. Apparently not. The thing was still broken.

Frustrated, he slammed the door shut again and focussed.

"Harmonium Nectare Passus."

He waited, prayed, though what for, he didn't know. What more would happen to a dead bird?

"Harmonium Nectare Passus."

He opened the door and screamed in frustration as the smell hit him. The bird had decayed, rotted and it lay mouldering on the cabinet floor.

Great, so there was a time discrepancy too.

He sat down to think. This had to work, it had to! If Harry changed his mind, he had nowhere to go! He needed this plan, a backup plan to go ahead with in case he changed his mind.

He knew the truth though. He was a coward. He wanted the chance to back out in case at the last minute he changed his mind. He was nothing more than a coward.

…ooo000ooo…

Oddly enough, Pansy didn't speak to Harry for several days. He kept seeing her in corridors, even brushing shoulders, but she never seemed to notice him. The first few times he found himself half way through a wave before realising she wasn't looking at him, then he wondered what the hell he was doing. Did he really need her following him around twittering at a hundred miles an hour about whatever Tracey and Morag were wearing to Daphne's birthday party?

He never had heard the conclusion to that one, he wondered if the boy Morag fancied had gone. Pansy had hinted he might, and that if he did there could be a serious catfight over who got to dance with him first.

_What the -?_

Harry was forced to slap himself, causing several people to look at him in alarm. What was wrong with him?

He groaned.

"What is it mate?" Ron asked, concerned, but Harry waved him away.

_She's infected me with her girly-ness._

…ooo000ooo…

That year there was some late snow, so Harry decided to go outside and make the most of the weather by recreating the Christmas snow fight. However Ron wasn't keen on going out in the cold and Hermione wanted to do her Astronomy homework so disheartened, Harry went out alone, deciding to visit Hagrid. He took his broom too, because he felt like flying over the lake, and perhaps a little over the forbidden forest.

On his way out, he saw a group of girls appeared from the direction of Hagrid's hut, most likely on the way back from Care of Magical Creatures. Harry's heart leapt - there was Pansy! She was chatting to a curly-haired Ravenclaw girl as they walked back up to the castle.

At first, he was almost certain that she would walk by him without looking at him again, but as the group neared, Pansy looked over, and the corner of her mouth turned up as her eye passed over Harry.

Harry grinned back maniacally, then felt his face turning red; what was wrong with him?! He had mean to give her a friendly nod and walk on! He hated looking so desperate, but he just couldn't help wishing that she would talk to him again.

Lo and behold, Pansy broke off from the group with a few cheerful goodbyes to her classmates, and walked over to where Harry stood.

"Hey." she trudged towards him in the snow, her cheeks rosy in the cold air. Today she had her hair in loose ringlets again, just like at Christmas, under a very Slytherin emerald green bobble hat. Harry fought a sudden urge to gather her in his arms and kiss her; he had no idea where it had come from.

"Hey." he replied, finding himself smiling widely. _Missed you, _he wanted to say. Pansy smiled back, her perfect teeth like white pearls.

A few flakes of snow began to fall as she stopped beside him and held out her hand expectantly.

"What?" Harry said confusedly, then found himself hoping against hope that for some reason she wanted to hold hands

"Give me a ride!" she laughed, rolling her eyes as if it were obvious, gesturing towards his Firebolt.

Harry laughed nervously, and mounted the broom. Pansy climbed up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist snugly.

He took her on a circuit of the grounds, starting off low down, then gradually rising, eventually weaving in and out of the goal hoops on the quidditch pitch on the way, making her squeal with delight. He found himself grinning; he loved that despite her terrible flying, she wasn't afraid at all, even when he risked a small loop-the-loop she sounded as if she was having a whale of a time.

He almost didn't want to stop, but eventually he felt as if he didn't get indoors his fingers would freeze to the broom, so he descended on the grass in front of the entrance hall and skimmed to a stop.

Pansy stumbled off the broom and nearly fell over and Harry grabbed her hand to steady her.

"Your hands are frozen!" he exclaimed "You should have told me you were cold!"

"I didn't want to stop!" she replied, "It was fun, and anyway, I didn't really notice till we stopped. Can we do that again sometime?"Harry's heart thudded as he looked down at her and a thought occurred to him: why, exactly was he avoiding this? Somewhere along the line he'd forgotten…

He enjoyed being with Pansy, he missed her when she wasn't around, yet he still continued to try to defy Draco's predictions, and it was even more ridiculous when you added in all the hints she'd been giving.

He looked at her for another long moment.

"Are you alright?" she asked, looking puzzled

"Yeah." he mumbled, then decided to do it before the euphoria of flying wore off.

"I'd like to do that again." he answered her question and she smiled "But, I was wondering if…"

"If what?" she began to tug him towards the entrance hall, still holding his hand.

"If maybe you wanted to do it as my girlfriend?"

Pansy whirled around in the snow and stared up at him, her eyes lighting up "Honestly? You're asking me out?"

"If you want to…" Harry said, beginning to feel slightly foolish despite his hopes rising.

"Oh Harry! I'd love to!" she squealed, and then stepped forward, looking up at him. Harry grinned foolishly at her for a second and then she burst into giggles.

"What?" he asked confused, but she took his hand again and pulled him towards the steps. Still bewildered, Harry allowed her to position him at the foot of the stairs, and then she stepped onto the bottom step. For a moment he continued to stare at her like an idiot, but she simply smiled at him and then leant forward and pressed her lips to his.

_Oh! _he thought, mentally kicking himself, and then kissed her back.

…ooo000ooo…

"You can _not _refuse to help me! This is serious!" Hermione snapped frustratedly; Professor Binns had set his class the exercise of interviewing a pure-blood witch or wizard on their opinions of the importance of the changing role of goblins over the last century. No one else was likely to make the effort, but Hermione had never skipped homework before and she wasn't about to start. Completely against approaching Ron after the ball, and deciding to prove to herself that she wasn't going to let her fear of what happened between them dictate her life, Hermione had approached Draco just before curfew as he headed back to the Room of Requirement. She had agreed to take him the invisibility cloak before he went to the Room, which they kept doing just in case, despite there being no attacks on him in recent months. However he was ignoring her, clearly regretting that Harry hadn't accompanied him as usual.

"This is _homework _Granger, it's not a matter of life and death."

Hermione jogged to keep up with his pace' she decided to let it go soon; they were nearly at the Gryffindor tower in any case but she didn't want to look to eager for his help, especially when she could talk to Parvati Patil just as easily. She steeled herself, deciding to make sure he knew that she wasn't letting her fear of the cupboard incident rule her anymore.

"Malfoy, I realise you feel awkward about-"

"Shut up!" he wheeled around and began to whisper furiously "Don't you dare bring that up in public again!"

"We're in an empty corridor Mal-" Hermione whispered back angrily.

"I don't care! I refuse to speak of that -"

Hermione felt tears inexplicably spring to her eyes.

"I don't remember you complaining!" she spat furiously.

"It was a _mistake,_" he hissed, "and you can chase after me all you want Granger, but it's _never_ happening again!"

"Is that what you think this is about?" Hermione didn't bother keeping her voice down now "You think I want to do it again? You think I want YOU anywhere near me after - after"

"Sshhh!" Draco froze, grabbing her arm

"Why you - get your hands-" then she stopped, her eyes resting on the same point where Draco's remained frozen. Mrs Norris stood at the far end of the corridor. Then they heard the sound of running feet

"Run!" they both hissed simultaneously, and turning, they began sprinting down the corridor in the opposite direction

"In here!" Draco hissed as the rounded a corner, wrenching open a door. Hermione found herself dragged in, almost on top of him in the tiny space left in the broom cupboard, which mainly seemed to be full of cardboard boxes. The door clicked shut.

"Not here again Malfoy!" she whispered indignantly at very same moment Malfoy hissed "Keep quiet!" and they both realised how close they were.

Draco groaned. This was not happening. This cupboard was going to be the death of him. He felt Hermione's breath hitch; her chest was pressed uncomfortably against his. Suddenly a light flicked on inside his head. He was crushed into a closet with a beautiful girl who he liked; when had he ever stopped himself from getting what he wanted? _No no…its Granger! _he told himself, even as he felt his head turning _I won't- not again -_

And then suddenly their lips met.

It was mayhem. Chaos. Suddenly it didn't matter that they were in a tiny cupboard hiding from Filch, it didn't matter that they were prefects, it didn't even matter that if anyone found out they would never live it down. The cupboard, Hogwarts - it didn't exist.

Draco's hands were on Hermione's hot skin again, as if they had never left. It felt so right, and she was everywhere. Her mouth on his and it was all he could feel.

Hermione had her fingers in Draco's hair, sighing with pleasure - how much had she secretly dreamt of doing this again? Her hands slipped under his shirt and up his back and he groaned into her mouth, clutching her tightly. He lifted her up so that her legs circled his waist and-

BAM

The cupboard door burst open and dim light filled the small space. Draco and Hermione let go of each other as if they had been burnt, Hermione stumbling against the boxes as he dropped her. For a split second, their eyes fell on a trembling, white-faced first year, and then he was gone, the door swinging open by itself.

"Fernley! Is that you?" It was Professor McGonagall

Draco met Hermione's widened, terrified eyes, only to stifle a gasp as they heard Professor Snape's voice say

"Out of bed after hours - that'll be fifty points from Gryffindor!"

There was a whimpering noise from the first year as Hermione tugged something out of her pocket and whipped it over their heads. Draco's mind worked furiously as the silvery folds of an invisibility cloak settled over him. _Where did she get that? Did she steal it from him again?_

"Why is that cupboard door open?" Snape snapped

"There's someone inside!" Professor McGonagall said suddenly "He was going to hide inside - who is it Fernley?"

Hermione and Draco walked as fast as they could, hunched under the invisibility cloak and managed to get out of the way just in time, as McGonagall and Snape rushed over to the cupboard, only to find it empty.

"Who was it!?" demanded Snape, wheeling on tiny Fernley who looked ready to wet himself

"Sixth years" he squeaked "They were-" he stopped and gulped

"What were they doing?" McGonagall asked more gently

"_Stuff_" muttered the little boy, his face crimson "You know - s_tuff_"

"Give me their names?" Snape pressed, his face like thunder

"I don't know!" the boy whimpered, backing away

"Come now, Fernley-" McGonagall began, only to be cut off by Snape

"Forty points from Gryffindor unless you describe them, Fernley!"

"_Severus!_"

However this tack seemed to work "A Gryffindor - the girl with the frizzy hair, Harry Potter's friend-"

"Hermione Granger?!" McGonagall exclaimed, aghast as the boy nodded.

"And the boy - who was the boy?" an evil vindictive smile was spreading across Snape's face, and Hermione knew he was anticipating Harry's name, or Ron's.

The boy muttered something indecipherable

"Speak up!" Snape hissed

"Draco Malfoy."

…ooo000ooo…

Hermione paid no heed to where Draco was leading her, their feet clattering down numerous stairs and corridors as they sprinted. She felt hopeless. This would mean expulsion. Her friends would never speak to her again. He reputation-she couldn't even bear thinking about that.

Finally, as they stopped outside a gloomy stretch of dungeon wall, she mumbled

"Where are we?"

"Outside the Slytherin common room," Draco answered, stepping out from under the cloak

"What!" Hermione gasped, waking up "Why - how is that going to help?"

"I didn't know where else to go, but I have a plan now. Keep quiet and stay under the cloak." he ordered, whispering _'purity' _to the wall, which melted away, forming an arched door.

Hermione had no choice but to follow his orders as he walked into the common room, leaving Hermione alone. She hurried along after him, still invisible under the cloak.

The Slytherin common room was dimly lit, green leather sofas dotted over the cold stone floor. The windows were black, but Hermione was sure she spotted something flit by outside the glass.

"Oy!" Malfoy shouted suddenly, making her jump. Two small first year girls shot to their feet, previously hidden by the backs of leather chairs. They looked nervously respectful at the sight of Malfoy.

"Fetch Pansy Parkinson immediately." Draco ordered "Tell her to bring her - um - special potions. And after that - don't let me find you out of your dormitories unless you want to die a seriously painful death."

The first years shot up the stairs, terrified. Hermione was too numb to feel sorry for them. They stood in silence for a few seconds before Pansy appeared.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Pansy's voice was serious, a tone, Hermione realised, which she had never heard from her. She stared at Pansy; her brown hair fell down her back, slightly tangled from sleep. She wore rather innocent looking pink pyjamas, but Hermione's musings were interrupted when Draco suddenly pulled off her invisibility cloak, leaving her standing there in her dressing gown and slippers. Pansy's eyes flitted between her and Draco, suspicions visibly forming in them.

"Pans we have a problem. We need an alibi - we can't be found together. Snape and McGonagall are probably on their way to find us now. I don't trust Hermione's lying ability."

Pansy hesitated for only a second, then nodded, but looking unconvinced. "Alright, but you'll owe me! If Slughorn finds out I stole this..." She pulled a bottle out of her pocket. "You'll explain later Draco. Give me one of your hairs, Granger."

Hermione's brow furrowed "What-" and then she yelped as she felt a sharp tug on her head and Draco turned and handed a handful of hairs to Pansy, who pulled a hair out of her own head and exchanged it for Draco's handful.

The other girl then used the lid of the bottle to measure out some liquid, and then added a hair before gulping it down. She shoved the bottle at Hermione "Give me the cloak" she said, her face already beginning to mutate. Hermione handed it over wordlessly, and then Pansy disappeared, and the common room door swung open and then shut again.

Draco then turned to Hermione, adding Pansy's hair to the potion before handing it to her.

"Drink it." he said urgently "You need to pretend to be Pansy. We haven't much time."

Hermione unthinkingly gulped down the liquorice flavoured liquid, and the gasped and choked as at the same time, Draco tugged her down onto an armchair onto his lap.

"Just try and act like Pansy when he gets here. I'll do the talking." and with that he closed her protesting mouth with his own, pulling her hand up so that it rested on his neck.

Hermione jumped and tried to free herself when, only seconds later, she hear footsteps crossing the common room from the entrance behind them, but Draco held her to him, his fingers tightening in warning on her hand. _Act like Pansy. _She thought furiously as a low, dangerous voice interrupted;

"When you've quite finished Mr Malfoy."

Hermione had to force herself not to freeze, or jump to her feet, but Draco took his time ending the kiss, finally stopping to look up at Snape who towered over them. Hermione uncomfortably realised that his hand was resting on her bottom and he showed no signs of moving it. She attempted to look up at Snape through her eyelashes in the way that Pansy usually did when trying to look innocent.

"What is it, Professor?" Malfoy answered, quite at ease, even going as far as to rest his other hand on Hermione's exposed leg.

"I have an eyewitness stating that not ten minutes ago you were ensconced in a cupboard with another student. " Snape's eyes flickered over Hermione, who felt a little surprised. Wasn't he going to say her name? Or did he actually have the decency not to attempt to ruin Draco and Pansy's relationship? If snogging Pansy behind Ginny's back (Snape wouldn't know about their recent break up) counted as a relationship.

Draco chuckled, squeezing her leg reassuringly

"Oh professor, I assure you Pansy and I are quite comfortable here. We've been here for some time."

Hermione quickly changed her expression of confusion to one of faked innocence, but with a mischievous upturn of the lip. She even reached out to stroke Draco's hair in the way she had seen Pansy doing so often.

"Whoever your informer is," Draco drawled, running his hand up Hermione's leg "he should have picked someone else to lay the blame on."

Snape's eyes rested on Draco's face for another moment as he spoke

"I suggest you both get to bed then."

And with that, he spun on his heel and left the common room.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well," Draco murmured "That went well."

"Are you sure?" Hermione whispered back

"It won't matter unless Pansy managed to get to Gryffindor in time." Draco looked worried

"But yes, we played our part well. He think's I'm up to something - but not with Hermione Granger." he gave Hermione a roguish grin.

Hermione blushed.

"You're starting to change back." he whispered looking at her face, and watching Pansy's smooth hair grow curly and bushy

Hermione felt her legs growing longer and watched her nails growing back into her fingers until Pansy's claws had changed back into neatly manicured nails. She felt her curves coming back - Pansy was terribly thin - and her breasts growing.

"Draco," she began, confusedly watching his smiling face as her snub-nose changed back into her normal one "we need to talk about this. What's happened between us."

Anxiety etched the boy's pale face "Tomorrow. "

"But last time-"

"Last time was different. I give my word we'll speak about this to-"

The common room door opened and a giggling couple stumbled through, stopping dead when they caught sight of Hermione in Draco's arms.

Hermione's mind raced. The couple were fifth years, she didn't know their names. Suddenly Draco voice came from behind her

"_Imperio!" _She jumped, heart racing. "_Imperio!_"

She started, turning to see Draco's forehead wrinkled in concentration. In horror she leapt to her feet, and Draco followed her, walking towards the couple who stood listlessly before him. He stood quietly, apparently thinking.

"Malfoy - Draco - what-?" she began, but Draco cut her off.

"Shh. Let me think." He massaged his eyelids with his fingers. After a long moment, his head snapped up.

"You will take this," he ordered the couple, holding out the Polyjuice bottle to the girl, who held out a hand unquestioningly "and get caught in Snape's stores. Pretend to be attempting to steal from his stock of Polyjuice."

Hermione watched the scene, mesmerised

"You will forget you saw me with Granger. Instead, when pressed, tell Snape that you have been using the potion to masquerade as various students. Tonight, you used a hair from Granger you took from her cloak this morning. You," he turned to the boy "took a hair from me yesterday, in quidditch practice. In the changing rooms. You will subtly give Snape the impression that you pretend to be other students in case you are caught having sex - and because you enjoy it."

Draco looked at both of them, saying "If anyone asks you if you have been imperuised, you will say no. You will use all your skills to make your story as plausible as possible. Go."

As soon as the couple had gone, Hermione turned on Draco

"You - how could you-!"

"Listen!" Draco snapped "We never asked for this to happen!"

"And they did?" she retorted, angry and confused

"Yes!" he began to plead with her "Hermione - they've been having sex all over the school since the beginning of term. Everyone in Slytherin knows it - they aren't discreet. At least we didn't mean it, and we _were_ being secretive - those two - they didn't care about the example they set to younger students-"

"Don't act like you do!" Hermione retorted

"I don't but you do. They deserve it more than us."

"I can't believe you used an Unforgivable and I didn't stop you!" Hermione whispered, bringing her hands up to her face

"Listen Hermione," Draco said "If I hadn't, we would have been found out. Snape would have gone back to verify the story with that first year, Fernley. When he realised he'd been telling the truth, he'd come back. We'd both be expelled. They won't believe we weren't actually doing anything, the fact that we were caught by a first year is enough - we're prefects. Your reputation would be ruined - expelled from Hogwarts - you won't get a job in the wizarding world after an elxpulsion. And I - I would have nowhere to hide from the Dark Lord, and he now knows I'm against him. I did what needed to be done."

There was a silence as Hermione turned away from him, pinching her nose eyes closed. What had she done?

Both jumped as the common room door swung open and shut. Pansy appeared, tossing the cloak at Hermione.

"Job done." she said shortly, and they breathed a sigh of relief, but Pansy didn't relax.

Pansy then looked at Hermione "You friends Patil and Brown heard it all, what McGonagall was accusing.. I told them that you had been caught with Draco but managed to get away before anyone other than the first year saw you. I promised them more gossip when I got back from checking that Draco was alright. I said it looked like it was more than it was. Is that true?"

"It was, this time." Draco replied, as Hermione's face inevitably reddened

Pansy turned to Draco now

"You two have been shagging all over the castle?"

Hermione groaned with embarrassment

"No," Draco said quietly "Only once, and it was an accident."

Pansy rolled her eyes "An accident for who, I wonder?"

"Both of us!" Draco snapped "Pans - help me!"

At this, Pansy's cold expression warmed slightly but she said

"You made this mess Draco, you fix it. In any case, this will be all over school by tomorrow anyway, even if the teachers believe the story." Hermione closed her eyes.

"I imperuised Banner and MacDougal. They'll confess, and I'm sure Snape will believe it."

"Well done." Pansy looked relieved, and Hermione was appalled at the ease with which she accepted it "But what are you going to say to Harry and Ron?"

"We'll have to think of that tomorrow, see how they react to the rumours." Draco said heavily, and Pansy looked unhappy.

"I'm not going to lie if he asks me about it." she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.

Hermione walked back to Gryffindor under the cloak with Pansy, who had filled her in on her exact words with McGonagall, Lavender and Parvati.

"They'll be sitting up, waiting for details."

"No" Hermione whimpered "I can't tell them, not about this!"

"You don't have to." Pansy replied "You just need to give them details. Pretend that it was your first - er date. Be grateful to them" she advised "They went along with the story, said that all three of us had been sitting up all night gossiping."

At Hermione's surprised glance, she added "They're nice girls. For Gryffindors. You should give them a chance. Just because they're not geeks - just because they like gossiping and boys - it doesn't make them stupid."

When Harry arrived in Snapes classroom for his detention, he was surprised to see Pansy there as well.

"What are you doing here?" he asked confusedly after checking that Snape wasn't around. He settled down into the seat beside her. Pansy gave him a smirk and said in a playful voice

"Professor Snape gave me detention." she was looking at Harry through her eyelashes, and he gripped the table tighter to distract himself from a sudden surge of attraction.

Harry looked away. He just couldn't understand how Pansy did this to him, but he was certain she knew exactly what effect she had on him. He just wished she wouldn't do it in situations like this.

Their first few dates had been positively harrowing. One minute they could be talking and getting along like a house on fire, the next Pansy would make eyes at him or flirt lightly, and he'd be knock-kneed and red faced all over again. At first she found it hilarious, but now it was becoming a habit to see how worked up she could get him. He told her to stop, but it was getting harder and harder to do so.

And anyway, what self-respecting man could really say no to _that _sort of thing.

He tried to will away the sudden tightness in his trousers, and asked her the obvious question, resolving not to look at her this time.

"How come he gave you detention? I though he never gave his own house detention." he tired to keep his voice light and airy.

"Oh," Pansy replied "Well apparently he does." she laughed, and Harry smiled slightly; he loved her laugh. "What are you doing here?"

He explained about his detentions that he was still being forced to do since his explosion in class at the beginning of the year.

"…and the last one got postponed until today."

"That sucks." she said sympathetically "I'd forgotten about that day. If he wasn't my favorite teacher - don't pull that face! - I'd tell you it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Anyway, I forgot to do that essay - you know, the one on Dementors? Well," she continued, her voice slow and sultry "He told me I was a very bad girl…" she spoke each word slowly and deliberately, and Harry's jaw dropped slightly. He felt a definite increase in pressure in his trouser region

"…and that he wanted to see me later tonight."

Harry, incredulous and half horrified spun around in his seat to face her, only to see she was shaking with silent laughter at his expression.

"Oh come on!" Pansy spluttered through her laughter "I have better taste than that!"

Harry laughed weakly, folding his hands over his lap. _Why is she doing this now?! _Pansy had acted provocative before, but she'd never been so obvious, and in Snape's classroom of all places? If he had been dating anyone else, Harry would never have thought half the thoughts he had been thinking about her, but as it was Pansy he found it very hard to control the direction his mind wandered in. Especially at times like this.

"I can't see him ever making a proposition like that to anyone, never mind a student! Can you really imagine me and Professor Snape?" she giggled

"I don't want to, that's disgusting!" he replied, trying to grin, then had to suppress a grimace of horror and embarrassment at her next actions.

"_Oh!_" Pansy threw herself back in her chair in a mock faint, and Harry's eyes involuntarily focussed on her outthrust chest, where her Slytherin tie barely hid the strained buttons on her white shirt. "_Oh Severus!_" she gasped, thrashing around on her seat.

He felt his face burning and he saw a flash of skin and white lace through the gaps between her buttons, before forcing his eyes back up to her face only to regret it immediately.

Harry forgot whose name Pansy was gasping, he forgot that she was only joking, making fun of _him _in truth; he only saw the perfect 'o' that her mouth was making and the delicious way her pink lips were quivering.

The classroom door banged open and Snape swept in like a draught of cold air and, as Pansy snapped back upright, then collapsed in giggles, Harry was left gaping, red-faced, like a fish out of water.

"Contain yourself Miss Parkinson!" Snape snapped, and Pansy ceased her giggles and sat up straight again.

"Sorry professor." she said meekly, and proceeded to ignore Harry.

Harry barely concentrated as Snape slammed a long roll of parchment in front of either of them; he couldn't stop thinking about Pansy's little act.

So wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't even bother replying when Snape made some snide remark to him before he swept out of the classroom again.

"Er - what was I supposed to be writing this time?" he finally asked Pansy after sitting in silence for a few moments. Pansy looked up from her parchment.

"I should not be rude and obnoxious." she said, "You should pay attention." she laughed "And it would probably help if you thought with your _brain_." she gave his lap a significant glance before turning back to her lines again with a smirk.

Harry could feel his stomach churning with embarrassment as he turned to his parchment, his face hot. _She knows _exactly _what she__'__s doing! _he thought incredulously, then wondered why he was so surprised.

He turned to her, furious, then realised he had no idea what to say. He couldn't accuse her of - of winding him up. Especially not it _that _way. She would probably just make him blush and stammer by some kind of comment along the lines of 'Are you trying to tell me you don't enjoy it?' and he knew he wouldn't be able to answer that truthfully.

He returned to writing his lines, wishing he could sink through the floor and escape. He just couldn't take this, not with the threat of Snape appearing at any moment. He could just imagine the professor ridiculing him in front of the class for 'getting aroused in detention' or some such similar humiliating crime.

For a long time, the classroom was silent except for the scratching of quills on parchment. When Snape re-appeared, he left just as suddenly with a large pile of textbooks.

"Harry, are you in a mood with me?" Pansy said suddenly

"No." he replied "I just wish you wouldn't do this!"

"What?" she asked angelically

"Pansy!" he exclaimed, his face red

"What?" she said, trying and failing to look innocent "Oh all right, I know what you mean. But why? You _feel _like you like it."

Harry nearly jumped out of his chair when he felt her hand on his - well somewhere that it shouldn't be (at least not in the front row of Snape's class).

"_Pansy_!" he whispered furiously

"Well you do." she shrugged

"I'd prefer if you'd do it somewhere where we don't have to worry about getting caught!" he replied.

Pansy tried to hide her grin, but Harry saw it and felt his onw lips curling of their own accord.

"I didn't realise you wanted to tease me back, Harry." she laughed "Go ahead, nothing's stopping you." she fluttered her eyelashes

"Oh trust me I've had enough teasing to last me a lifetime," he said with feeling. Some daring words occurred to him and he almost decided against saying them, but then he realised that by no stretch of the imagination could he pretend that anything he could say was anywhere near as shocking as half the things Pansy came out with.

"No teasing?" Pansy said sadly, turning her lips down at the corners comically.

"No teasing." he said firmly "At least not if I'm never going to get some action." he hoped his face wasn't red again, but he thought it was about time that he spoke his mind freely - Pansy did it all the time.

However Pansy didn't reply, and when he looked over at her, he was surprised to see that her face was a little red too.

"Pan?" he asked, feeling self-conscious.

"Wow Harry." she replied, biting her lip and smiling a little "You know that's the first time you've ever said anything like that."

"You've corrupted me." he said jovially, wishing he could spend at lease five minutes in her presence with a normal skin tone rather than the standard furious red he wore currently.

Pansy tried to look remorseful "Draco did say I would corrupt you.." she confessed

"He also said I'd be the one begging you to go out with me … among other things." Harry replied, feeling a thrill of daring at being able to say things like this out loud.

"So Draco was right about everything?"

"Well…" Harry said doubtfully "If you ask me, you've not corrupted me nearly enough-" he fell silent as the classroom door clicked open and Snape came in again and seated himself at his desk.

Harry's heart, which had been racing at a hundred miles a minute, slowly returned back to its regular pace as he wrote out another line of 'I must not be rude and obnoxious'.

After several minutes, Pansy eventually stopped scratching out lines, and yawned and stretched. Once again Harry's eyes rested on her chest. He looked up to see that Pansy was smirking at him. He almost dropped his eyes and then remembered he didn't care.

He raised an eyebrow, as if to say '_Is that the best you can do?__'_and hoped in vain that he wasn't blushing again.

"Professor?" Pansy suddenly called out, making Harry jump and hurriedly return to his lines "Could you open a window? It's very _hot _in here." she pulled open the top button of her shirt and the temperature indeed rose; at least from Harry's point of view.

_I should have just ignored her _he thought ruefully

"Get back to your work!" Snape said irritably, but he flicked his wand at the window nearest to them and it opened a crack. For some reason, the world seemed to be following a script; one written by Pansy.

A sudden breeze caught her parchment and blew it halfway over their desk, and Pansy leant over the table to get it, lifting off her seat as she reached so that Harry was faced with an amply amount of thigh. _Skirts that short definitely shouldn__'__t be allowed _he thought fervently as she sat back down, smirking. He gave her a weak smile, wondering what he was getting himself into.

Suddenly Snape stood up, and headed for the door, a piece of parchment clutched in his hand, muttering moodily, unaware that two pairs of eyes followed him until the door snapped shut.

_This is it. _Harry thought nervously, turning to Pansy, who now had her own eyebrow raised.

For a moment he couldn't speak, and her eyes wandered over his body, making him suddenly realise that he was sweating profusely.

Pansy stood up and turned to sit on the desk, smirking at him.

"You really want to be corrupted?" she smirked at him

"Definitely." He could think of nothing else to say, distracted as Pansy lifted her leg, shifting over on the table top so that she was sitting directly in front of him on the table, a leg on either side.

His heart rate increased and he involuntarily smirked as he tried to stop himself from grinning.

"I like that look." Pansy said, and moved down from the table and onto Harry's lap, causing his mind to spontaneously wipe itself blank. "You look positively naughty." she shifted slightly and he gasped involuntarily.

"And how _exactly _do you want me to corrupt you?" Pansy said playfully, but Harry's mind was still blank.

"You…"

"Yeah?" she leaned close, so that her lips were centimetres from Harry's.

_Oh _shit! _Draco was right! What I am I doing? What -_

"You bitch." he said, suddenly deciding to tell her exactly what was on his mind "You're still winding me up. You're not going to do anything, are you?" he took a breath as Pansy leaned even closer.

"Oh really?" Pansy kissed him.

It was a gentle kiss, almost innocent, but then Harry had to suppress shivers from the way she was moving, very slowly back and forth on his lap. Finally Pansy stopped and pulled away.

"Don't you dare stop now!" Harry croaked, feeling punch-drunk.

"Sorry Harry." Pansy grinned unashamedly, slipping off his lap and back into her chair "I can't have you thinking I'm some kind of slut!"

Regrettably, Harry didn't have a chance to reply, as Snape entered the room again.

…ooo000ooo…

Hermione didn't think she'd ever see the day Lavender managed to keep her mouth shut about a juicy piece of gossip, especially such a dirty secret.

Of course, her dorm mates had no idea of exactly how low Hermione had sunk.

She still hadn't spoken to Draco properly since the other night, and days were crawling by at a snails pace.

Every night she lay awake wondering if Lavender and Parvati had told someone, whether right now the rumours were spreading that Hermione Granger had cheated on her boyfriend. But that was ridiculous, she told herself repeatedly, she and Ron were not seeing each other, they hadn't gone out since the Ball - they had almost been ignoring each other. But did Ron see things like that? Nevertheless, every morning she woke up thinking, _is today going to be the day?_

She had tried to speak to Draco, hurried moments, whispered conversations that seemed to go no further than agreeing they had a problem. Once, Hermione had broached the question of whether they should try to date publicly, at least for a week, so that if rumours ever did appear they wouldn't cause as much scandal, but Draco had shook his head furiously, citing that his parents would do something awful - or something like that, because they were interrupted by Pansy and Harry arriving hand in hand to see where they'd got to while they'd not so discreetly disappeared into an empty classroom.

If Harry and Pansy could go out in public, then what did it matter? Surely Pansy's parents would throw a fit?

But no, it seemed like either Pansy didn't care or people simply didn't have the ill will towards her to let them know about their daughter's relationship.

Draco was worried too. He had wanted to obliviate her dorm mates but he hadn't dared suggest it after Hermione's reaction to his _Imperio_. It was too late now anyway. The rumour would come out at one time or another, he knew, but how many people would listen to it was something else. He didn't know what to tell Hermione. He liked her, but he still hadn't told Harry the truth about the awful mission he'd been given, could he really form a relationship with someone else on a false foundation?

His only hope was to just tell Harry.

Either that or go ahead with the original plan.

…ooo000ooo…

Unfortunately for Harry, things continued in a similar vein with Pansy for some time; she continued to tease, except to a more daring degree. He half regretted that he sat next to her in most classes; one of the most traumatising experiences was trying to answer a question from Professor McGonagall with the eyes of the whole class on him as Pansy slowly stroked his cock through his trousers.

Luckily the only one who seemed to have a clue of what was going on was Draco, and Harry tried to ignore his friend shaking with silent laughter in every class where he noticed such things happening.

Things came to a head for Harry when he and Pansy were on the way to potions and she stopped to tie his shoelace for him in a most suggestive manner.

Groaning, he waited until she had finished and then grabbed her hand and pulled her into a secret passageway behind a tapestry.

"Harry - ?"

"Pan." He glared at her "You've got to stop teasing!"

She folded her arms challengingly "Uh huh. I'm very scared."

Harry tried not to smile, then prayed for patience as he noticed that Pansy was looking at him in _that _way; as if she was trying to think of how to torture him next.

"Don't even think about it!" he said as she opened her mouth.

His mouth went dry as Pansy moved closer, moving so that she rubbed against his erection.

"Well what do you want me to do Harry?" she kissed him, and then pulled back, waiting. When he didn't reply she prompted him: "Come on, tell me what you want or we'll be late for potions?"

Harry's mind raced.

"I'm serious." she continued "Name it and I'll do it, but I want you to _ask_."

Harry pulled her against him, running his hand up her body, over her breast. She gasped a little and for a moment he thought she'd pull away, but then her tongue traced slowly along his bottom lip.

When he tried to imitate her, however, she pulled away ever so slightly out of reach and repeated the action. Twice more this happened, until finally, frustrated, Harry pushed her against the wall and their mouths locked together furiously.

Perhaps it was because they were alone in a dark and little-known secret passageway, but their senses felt unusually heightened; every brush of skin against skin was like a shock, and Harry could feel the heat of her through her clothes as if it she was running a fever. Their kisses were deep, and they felt so erotic that Harry could feel blood pounding in certain parts of his body so hard that he felt like he would explode.

Harry didn't know how long they kissed, he didn't care that time was ticking by and that Professor Slughorn would be taking the register now. Knowing that Pansy wanted it, knowing she definitely wouldn't mind, allowed himself to do whatever felt right, daring himself to go further, and felt a thrill of adrenaline as he ran his hand up the back of Pansy's leg until he could feel that she wore a thong.

She moaned into his mouth, pulling him forward so that he pressed against her, and he kissed her furiously; he was full of sexual tension but had no idea where to direct it.

Suddenly he felt Pansy's hand on him, and he moaned even louder into her mouth as she rubbed him through his trousers.

Suddenly Pansy pushed him away and then dropped to her knees, and he suddenly felt an odd mixture of awkwardness and desire.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Ask me right now or I leave."

Harry groaned. "Pansy. Blow me. Please."

"Okay then, but Harry?"

"Wha - what is it?" he breathed, as she fiddled with the catch on his trousers. He didn't understand; her regretful expression didn't match her actions at all.

"I'm about to ruin you, Harry Potter." she said solemnly, and then an evil smile lit on her face as her hand closed on his bare skin.

Harry sat in silence at dinner that night. Beside him, Ron tucked into his pudding with vigour, and Harry wondered if he should have shared the information of his exploits with him; isn't that what friends did?

_No_.

At the moment Harry wanted to keep Pansy to himself; she was the best thing that had ever happened to him, as far as he was concerned.

Things had probably moved faster than they would have if he'd dated someone else perhaps, but he could never think of her as a slut, whatever she said about herself.

Not with the way she cuddled into his chest, or the way she looked at him when he held her hand, or told her how beautiful she was. Her cheeky comments which made him sweat, but well that was just Pansy. And he loved the way she acted, hated how she had thought, what everyone probably thought, that he could do 'better', as if he didn't have a right to have a say in the matter. So what if The Chosen One wanted a bad girl?

Harry tried and failed not to watch, mesmerised as Pansy sucked on an ice-lolly at the opposite end of the hall. In and out of her mouth it went. In and out. And then she whipped her tongue around it in a quick motion. Harry glared at her as she innocently dipped it in her ice-cream and gave him a cheeky smirk and repeated the process.

*** more blatant thievery from other people's fics

"_Harmonium Nectare Passus_." *** this is what Draco says in the HBP movie. I haven't bothered changing it

38


	16. Chapter 15

_I don't own HP and I'm not making money from this fic._

Hermione managed to corner Draco again. She was triumphant, certain she would get answers this time.

She had asked Harry if she could take Draco the invisibility cloak that night, and now they walked together in silence underneath it, Draco's arm almost around her as he held it over their heads.

Almost.

When they reached the Room of Requirement, Draco turned to look at her, then turned back to open the door when he saw the steely look in her eyes.

There wasn't any question that she was coming in.

"Do you like me, yes or no?"

He had barely shut the door.

"Granger," he said patiently, "I-"

"Don't 'Granger' me!" she said furiously, approaching him "Answer the question, Draco. I want to know, do we have a future or - or -what _is _this, this thing we have?"

"I don't know." he said hopelessly

Hermione searched his face, but it was impossible to judge what he felt; he looked as depressed and harried as she had been feeling all this time.

She stepped up on her tip toes and kissed him. He kissed her back, but only briefly before opening his eyes and saying again "I don't know."

"How can you not know?" she said frustratedly "Do you feel something or not?"

"Just because I feel something doesn't make this an easy decision." he muttered, his eyes cast to the floor.

"So you feel something." Hermione confirmed. "Now look at me."

He did

"Draco," she couldn't help feeling elated at the way his face lit up slightly when she said his name "will you think about giving it a go? You and me?"

He looked away, but she grabbed his hands and tugged at them to make him pay attention. "It's happened twice, but neither of us wanted it to - or it seemed that way. I don't feel like this will go away. Don't you think, we should at least try?"

He didn't answer her.

"Draco!" she wanted to cry, but he wouldn't look at her.

Finally he met her eyes. "I'll think about it 'Mione, but I'm not making any promises."

…ooo000ooo…

Draco had noticed a change in his once-innocent friend, one that was not altogether unexpected given that Harry was now openly going out with Pansy. More than once he had to stop himself from remarking that Harry no longer blushed whenever Pansy spoke to him, not even when she made a suggestive remark. In fact, Draco had stared in shock for a full ten seconds before managing to catch himself when, after bending to retrieve his quill from the floor, he looked up and saw Harry's hand stroking Pansy's leg under the table. In the library no less!

If it were anyone else, Draco would not have given the phenomena a second thought, but despite what he told Harry, the sad, disappointed looks that he noticed the headmaster giving him made him queasy. Harry had changed, it was true. He was still a good friend, and a good person, but it looked like Dumbledore only saw that Harry was getting up to things that the 'Chosen One' oughtn't; hanging around with a Death Eater's son, getting up to no good with a girl with a bad reputation, isolating himself from Dumbledore and his cause. But at least Harry was happy, that was the main thing.

And indeed Harry was happy. He and Pansy were down by the lake where he and Draco used to meet, and hidden by the trees, they were enjoying the sun, despite the cool breeze.

"Another one," Harry begged, holding out another piece of his last cauldron cake.

Pansy laughed, reaching out a hand for it, and then, after popping it in her mouth, undid another button on her school shirt. Harry wordlessly held out the last piece, but Pansy shook her head laughing.

"You can't keep bribing me with cake!" she giggled "You've hardly had any, I feel bad."

"Oh come one!" Harry said desperately, waving the cake at her "This one's got the most chocolate on it!"

Pansy laughed again "Is cake really all you have to offer me?" However she took the cake and popped it in her mouth.

"Well, I know you'll kill for chocolate." he leant forward "Three down, two to go." he made as if to kiss her, then ducked down to kiss her breast instead. Pansy gasped, sending shivers down Harry's spine. He opened his mouth and began to suck her nipple through the cotton.

"Oh…" she pressed against him, running her fingers through his hair and groaning as he pulled back.

"Now you know how I feel." Harry said sternly as she opened her mouth to complain. She shut her mouth abruptly, looking grumpy, and then a devilish look came onto her face.

"But Harry, I'm all _wet_!" she exclaimed and Harry almost felt a red haze of lust descending, but then she laughed, pointing to her nipple "See! You've made my top all damp!"

Harry groaned.

"Every time I think I'm making progress you have to go one better!" he said frustrated.

Pansy shrugged apologetically "Well I can't let you win Harry, that's just be weird. But really," she added "You've made me a little damp in other places too." she winked, and Harry scrambled over and forcibly pinned her down, pulling the last two buttons open.

He sighed wordlessly, running a hand over her flat stomach and then over her exposed breasts. Her pink nipples were hard and erect.

"I love it when you just _do _what you want," Pansy sighed, and he was about to lower his head and kiss her nipples, but properly this time, when they heard rapidly approaching footsteps. Harry leapt to his feet as Draco came into view.

"Hi - oh fuck!" Draco's grin faded as he saw Pansy lying on the ground, covering her breasts only by folding her arms.

"Go away!" she said sulkily

Harry shrugged apologetically, but couldn't hide the smirk, and Draco saw it.

"I suppose I should congratulate you." Draco sniggered "But I'm too pissed off that you're using our lunch spot as a sex grotto."

"You can leave now." Harry said pointedly, gesturing back towards the castle.

"But I brought sandwiches!" Draco whined playfully, and indeed he was holding a wrapped package that smelled strongly of egg.

"Go away Draco!" Pansy repeated

"You've been having cauldron cakes without me!" Draco complained, his eyes resting on the discarded wrappers at the foot of the tree "Alright alright!" he exclaimed, backing off as Harry raised his hand. "Just will you at least have lunch with me tomorrow?" he pleaded, backing away. "I'm getting bored of hanging about in the Room by myself!"

"I suppose I have been forgetting to spend time with him," Harry admitted as Draco left, feeling guilty. He stared out at the lake. He had to remember that he was Draco's only friend, besides Theo and Pansy, and he'd been stealing Pansy away for himself so often recently.

"Uuh…mmm"

Harry turned to see what Pansy was up to and his mouth went dry. Completely topless now, she was sitting up, her hand under her skirt, touching herself.

"Wait for me!" he said desperately, rushing over and falling to his knees, but Pansy stopped, now sitting cross-legged, shaking her head.

"Too late!" she sang "You should have paid attention to me when - _oh!_"

Harry had ignored her, sliding his hand up her leg and under her skirt into thus far unexplored territories.

"You're not wearing _any _underwear?" he said weakly, but Pansy ignored him now.

"Like this," she showed him what she wanted "Oh! Now keep doing it like - !"

Barely knowing what he was doing, Harry was immensely pleased with himself with the way Pansy was now clinging to him, her cheeks scarlet, and her mouth making that perfect 'o', but this time for real, and for him. He had to hide a sudden grin when he realised what he could do with his new found knowledge to get Pansy back for distracting him in class.

Hermione approached Harry on a rare moment when he wasn't with his girlfriend. He was perched on a window sill in the library, orange rays from the setting sun in his hair. She smiled at the way he stared out at the lake with a half-smile on his face, and knew he was thinking of Pansy.

"Harry?" she settled down beside him "Can I talk to you?"

She couldn't keep the truth to herself. It was killing her, the fear ruling her life and eating away at her. Ron would go mad, and Draco wouldn't give her a straight answer.

"Yeah, what is it?" he moved his feet from beside her to budge closer.

Harry would understand better than most. He had a Slytherin girlfriend.

She hoped he would understand anyway.

…ooo000ooo…

Harry found Draco easily enough, even though he wasn't where he had expected him to be. He left the great hall after dinner with a mission in mind, leaving an upset Hermione behind him.

No, he wouldn't hurt Draco, he assured her, he only wanted to talk.

What the hell had Draco been playing at? All this time, he had not even hinted to Harry that he fancied Hermione, never mind that he had seduced her in a broom cupboard. Whatever she said, he just could not believe that his best friend would take leave of her senses to willingly have sex with the boy she hated.

He found him on the way to the dungeons. He didn't explain, only shoved him into the nearest classroom.

"What's wrong?" Draco said in alarm, rubbing his arm where Harry had grabbed him.

"Draco, she told me everything."

"She- she told you what?" Draco's voice faltered, and though he was facing the other way Harry saw his shoulders stiffen.

"I just wanted to warn you," Harry's voice was cool "that you'd better not hurt her. Do you really care about Hermione, or has it all just been a bit of fun for you?"

Draco turned around slowly and then looked at Harry for a long time.

"She told you everything?"

"That's what I said."

"I can't believe she'd -"

"You had sex in a broom cupboard. Care to explain?"

Draco looked stunned. Then he closed his eyes.

"Do you care about her or not Draco?"

"I never meant for anything to happen between us." he answered finally "But it has. And I - I think I do care about her, yes."

"You _think_?"

"Listen," Draco's eyes flashed "I'm not exactly keen to get hurt, myself! Once was bad enough. I don't know how I feel exactly, but I have no intention of hurting her."

"To be honest," Harry said slowly "I can't exactly say I'm happy about how you've treated

her so far-"

"Neither am I." Draco said quickly "And I swear I won't do anything like that again."

"Well…" Harry sighed, staring out the window. After a moment, he turned and looked Draco in the eye again, and reached out to grasp his shoulder.

"I trust you. I know you're a decent guy. I'm still not happy with the way things have gone between you and Hermione, but if you say it won't happen again, I'll believe you. And it better not, because it's obvious to me at least that whether you care about her or not, you're not going to see her officially. That isn't good enough."

As Draco stared back into Harry's emerald green gaze and saw there disappointment, but along with acceptance and trust, his insides burned and own face seemed to crumple of its own accord.

_Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! _he screamed at himself as he realised that there was no way of hiding this any longer.

"What's wrong" Harry asked, worried. "Draco?" He couldn't connect the look of devastation with the edgy manner Draco had been answering his questions about Hermione.

"Draco? Draco! Are you alright?" Harry's panicked voice seemed to come from a long distance away as he covered his face with his arms.

Draco pressed his palms into his eyes, and stared into the blackness, unthinking. He had to tell them. But he couldn't lose Harry, not now.

"Draco?!"

"I need to talk to you." he forced himself to speak and was shocked at the anguish in own voice "And Hermione. Is there somewhere we can go?"

"What? But -" Harry sounded bewildered, but seemed to pull himself together "Um - how about the Room? Do you want me to go and get her?"

Draco nodded, already getting up.

"Ten minutes." He called back as he fled, unable to look Harry in the eyes again.

…ooo000ooo…

The Room was silent, Harry and Hermione sat bewildered, on Draco's four-poster, watching in worried confusion as Draco paced back and forth as he had been since they had entered. He was yet to acknowledge their presence.

"Draco?" Harry tried finally, his voice sounding odd after such a long period of silence.

Draco came to an abrupt halt and turned on the spot. His face was pale and strained looking and he clearly had to force himself to drag his eyes to meet Harry's and then Hermione's. When he finally spoke, his voice was cracked and anguished.

"There's some things I haven't told you." he forced out, then squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. There was a brief silence.

"What haven't you told us?" Hermione prompted nervously.

"I've been keeping things from all of you. And I -" Draco's voice faltered "I can't think of how to - I'm scared -" he met Harry's eyes and Harry felt a jolt of fear. Tears were swimming in Draco's flint-grey eyes "I've been scared to tell you the whole truth in case you never speak to me again and abandon me to - to _Him_"

There was another silence, but this one remained unbroken until Draco began to speak again.

"There's some things I want to say before I tell you. So that you don't run off before I have a chance to say them."

He took another steadying breath.

"Right now, I'm completely with you Harry." He looked Harry in the eye as he said this, and for the first time there was no shadow in his eye. "I'll do anything to help you kill him Harry, anything. I want you to know that even though I haven't been straight with you in the past, this is real, and from now on I'll never keep things from you again."

"Hermione," he hesitated, then ploughed on "I'm sorry for what happened before. And I'm sorry that this morning I told you I'd think about giving us a go. Because after this, you won't want to know."

The silence was now oppressive.

"I've been a coward." Draco stated baldly, then grasped his sleeve, and before any coherent thought could form, Harry's heart fell through his shoes. Then, Draco ripped his left sleeve up to expose an ugly mark on his pale white arm.

Hermione made a choking noise and grasped Harry's arm as he leapt to his feet, wand raised.

"You betrayed us!" he shouted, pulling Hermione behind him.

But Draco was shaking his head furiously, his hands held in the air.

"No! No - I couldn't - I just couldn't bring myself to tell you that there was more to the story than what I had originally told you! I thought you would abandon me if you found out I had already been made a Death Eater! You said that the only reason you wanted to give our - our deal a go was to stop me from becoming one!"

"When I first told you what I wanted to do, I was lying. I was willing to say anything to make you trust me. You see, the Dark Lord didn't only want me to kill Dumbledore, he wanted me to kill _you_ too!"

Harry could feel Hermione shaking against his back.

"You didn't have a Dark Mark in September."

"I knew you would ask to see my arm, so I used a concealment charm. I also hoped there was a chance I could get to Dumbledore through you." Draco continued desperately "But I soon realised there was no chance of that. I made other arrangements for him. I hoped to let Death Eaters into the school, to distract Dumbledore and give me a chance to curse him."

Harry laughed scathingly "And you thought that would work? That you could kill Dumbledore, just like that?"

"At that point, it was only vague ideas. I'd also thought about making sure you got in the way, or that you got hurt, so that he would be concentrating more on protecting you."

"All these months, and you never came up with a better plan?"

"I worked on the only plan I had. I was too scared to pick a side. I got close to you, Harry. Our friendship, it's been real, but I was frighten of the consequences."

"You've been lying to us." Harry said through gritted teeth

"I couldn't bring myself to think up plans after spending a little more time with you. And after a while I realised I didn't want to do it anymore. The excuses I'd given you at the beginning came true." he looked up at them desperately, willing them to believe him.

"I realised I couldn't kill Dumbledore, and I could never betray you, let alone kill you. It took me a while to admit it to myself, but once I had I realised that, my only way to stay alive was through you, now that I knew I could never be a proper Death Eater. And to be honest I valued our friendship too much to risk losing it by telling you the truth. I've been telling myself for weeks though, that I needed to tell you, but this morning-" his voice shook and he turned to Hermione "This morning I really wanted to finally give things a go with you, 'Mione. But I knew I couldn't keep living a lie. I didn't want to see you or Harry hurt. I just wish I was brave enough to have told you sooner."

…ooo000ooo…

Ron was uncontrollable when they told him. Hermione had had to leave the room in tears, but he'd been too caught up in his own rage to notice.

Harry followed shortly after, his mouth a grim line.

"I need to talk to Pansy." was all he said

Perhaps it was for the best that it was nearly the end of term, Hermione thought dully as she moved to the window where she could watch Harry and Pansy scream and gesticulate wildly at each other down by the lake. This way, perhaps they could all heal over the summer holidays after some time apart.

She didn't know why she had expected more of Draco Malfoy really. He had never once made any sort of commitment to her; for that she could be thankful, along with the comforting thought that Ron had no idea of the intimate details of her situation with Malfoy.

Harry on the other hand…Draco had been his best friend for months, and now his girlfriend had been helping hide things from him.

Harry retired from his shouting match with Pansy feeling run down and depressed. He wanted to feign illness just so he could shut himself away in his dormitory, but it was no good hiding from the facts.

He couldn't fault Pansy for putting Draco first. She had been protecting him, as Harry would Hermione or Ron. She had rubbed that much in his face.

"I never lied outright to you Harry," she'd said "if you'd asked me, I would have told you. If we'd been together longer, or if we'd been more serious, then I'd have told you too. But I didn't know if we would last. Draco's trusted me, relied on me since we were children. You've never trusted me like that with your secrets."

"And a good thing I didn't!" He'd spat back at her before storming off.

He knew their relationship was more physical than loving. Maybe it was his own fault, for wasting time canoodling in hidden alcoves rather than taking the time to tell her how much he cared. It didn't mean he couldn't be angry at her for hiding the truth from him though.

Pansy didn't know exactly what was going to happen to Draco. She'd come back from Dumbledore's office crying and fell straight into his arms as if they were still children. She spent the evening going with him, trying to pretend for a while that nothing had changed.

Draco pecked her on the cheek before he went to pack his trunk. He wouldn't tell her where he was going tomorrow, once term ended; he couldn't. He was under a powerful secrecy charm of some kind, and it pained Pansy that she could only know he would be safe, and no more. At least Harry was still going to protect him, she thought as she cried herself to sleep, even if he didn't want anything to do with either her or Draco.

She'd been offered the same protection, but ultimately she'd been unable to decide. Draco told her to go with her heart, but her heart told her it wasn't ready to say goodbye to her parents forever, despite the fact that Draco wouldn't be coming over to visit this summer.

She'd never been so upset about an argument with a boy before, but this was Harry Potter and he could never do things by halves. She'd wrangled an agreement to write over the summer though, and that was something. She just wished they could pretend that they were happy together, like she and Draco pretended, had pretended all these years, just so she could have a last kiss goodbye.


	17. Chapter 16

_I don__'__t own HP and I__'__m not making money from this fic._

Epilogue:

Hermione caught Draco's eye quite by accident as she paused at the table to put her neatly folded sweater into her trunk. He'd come up to say goodbye quietly, though why he thought she'd want to see him was beyond her. He'd been lingering, leaning against the window frame, staring out into the grounds in silence for several minutes now and they had not spoken. It had not been an awkward silence; rather it was peaceful, although tinged with sadness. Hermione had been silently sympathising with Draco's predicament, imagining how he must feel, knowing he would be spending his summer holidays estranged from his friends and family, among strangers who would most likely treat him with suspicion. She had looked up, wondering if he was thinking the same thoughts, but of course Draco's face was emotionlessly blank. From experience, Hermione took this to mean he was certainly upset or worried about something. Noting her stillness, he had shifted his gaze back to the room and his eyes locked on Hermione's face, and then she had seen him register that she was staring back at him.

There was a split second of time when she could have made the choice to look away, and they would both have soon forgotten the moment. However something, perhaps curiosity, made her hold his gaze. She didn't think she had ever looked at him like this before; cold, grey and sad were his eyes, and his face pale, as if carved from marble. His hair was darkening to light gold in the sunlight which was beginning to fade, an ear, like some perfect piece of sculpted architecture, peeping out from between the locks. Dark eyelashes, dark eyebrows, dark pupils…Hermione couldn't tear her gaze away. She felt if she did awkwardness would descend, as it was she was sure that moment would approach when they would both smile embarrassedly and turn away, but for now this felt nice. It felt like…like in that moment, they were connected. She was sure in that moment they understood each other's moods perfectly, even though Hermione's mind was completely and blissfully blank for this first time in months. She felt an urge to move closer, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. Seconds passed and they still remained frozen, less than a foot away from each other.

Hermione felt the Moment approaching. The moment when someone would have to do something, say something. She felt her heart skip in anticipation, and wondered if Draco would have noticed it - could he tell? She was sure she saw something in his eyes, was sure she saw a decision form.

But she wasn't to find out what that decision was. Clattering footsteps were coming up the stairs. Her heart sinking, they both looked away and turned towards the door. Hermione inexplicably wanted to cry.


	18. Sequel

_Just to let everyone know I've started the sequel, which I haven't decided on a title yet, but for now will go under New Alliances 2. The first chapter has been posted. Please Review._


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